Model Tables: the New UN set

United Nations Model Life Tables for Developing Countries

In 1982, the United Nations produced a system of model life tables, based on only 36 life tables from developing countries. One pair of tables was from North Africa (Tunisia) but none were available from sub-Saharan Africa.

Specific mortality patterns were identified and named as:

• South Asian pattern
• Far Eastern pattern
• Latin American pattern
• Chilean pattern

(The last mentioned because there was a distinctive pattern of adult and child mortality observed in the life tables from Chile that did not conform to other patterns observed).

In addition, because of the rather small database of 36 life tables from which the four patterns were derived, an "all-in" General pattern was presented. This became the generic or default pattern in a similar way to the West pattern in the Coale Demeny system.

As mentioned previously it is important to note that these patterns should be used pragmatically. If working in the Far East it would be sensible to start by comparing your life table data to the Far Eastern pattern. But if your data fits the General pattern or the Latin American pattern better – and you have some confidence that your data is reasonable – then use the pattern that fits!

This may need some explaining to a non-demographer but it would be no different to using one of the Coale Demeny patterns – all of which are largely based on historical Europe! Patterns of human mortality are very diverse and the important point is that you have reliable evidence for the existence of the model patterns that is not restricted to particular geographical areas.

The complete set of patterns are also available on the UN Population Division website .