Age Patterns of Mortality in the Provinces of Iran and their Adaptation to Standard Model Life Tables

Life table is the best tool for describing a population’s mortality status. Demographers developed different model life tables to analyze mortality in countries that have an incomplete vital registration system or poor death data. However, it is not yet clear which set of the model life tables is more consistent with the age pattern of mortality in Iran. Using death data registered by National Organization for Civil Registration of Iran (NOCRI), this study seeks answers to this question: which of the model life tables is more consistent with the age pattern of mortality in Iran and its provinces? The research method is secondary analysis of cross-sectional data taken from the Statistical Center of Iran and NOCRI. After evaluating and correcting the population and death data, a life table was constructed for each province and its adaptation with the model life tables was evaluated by MORTPAK. Results show that it is not possible to find a common standard mortality pattern by gender and age in all provinces. Considering the improvements made in the field of death registration coverage, it is necessary to make efforts to develop standard model life tables based on the death data specific to Iran and its provinces.