Figure 1
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Improvements in Mortality from 1911 through 1991 in England & Wales
for Females Aged 85, 90, and 95.

Figure 1

Source: Compiled by author from data in the Kannisto-Thatcher Oldest-Old Database, Odense University, Odense, Denmark.

Figure 2
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Mortality Reductions since 1950 for Female Octogenarians and Nonagenarians
in England & Wales, France, Sweden, and Japan.

 Figure 2

Source: Compiled by author from data in the Kannisto-Thatcher Oldest-Old Database, Odense University, Odense, Denmark.

Figure 3
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Average Annual Improvement in Mortality Between Successive Ten-Year Periods
for Male and Female Octogenarians and Nonagenarians
in an Aggregation of Nine Countries.

 Figure 3

Source: Compiled by author from data in the Kannisto-Thatcher Oldest-Old Database, Odense University, Odense, Denmark. The nine countries are Austria, Belgium, England & Wales, France, West Germany, Japan, Scotland, Sweden, and Switzerland. The last point on the curves gives the rate of improvement between 1972-81 and 1982-91.

Notes: The nine countries (Austria Belgium, England and Wales, France, West Germany, Japan, Scotland, Sweden, and Switzerland) are those for which data were available up through 1991. The curves plot the annual average improvement in mortality between one ten-year period and the next. The last point of the curves gives the rate of improvement between 1972-81 and 1982-91.

Figure 4
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Average Death Rate in the 1970s Compared with Average Annual Improvement in Mortality
from the 1970s to the 1980s, for Males and Females
for Ages 80-99 Combined.

 Figure 4

Source: Compiled by author from data in the Kannisto-Thatcher Oldest-Old Database, Odense University, Odense, Denmark

Note: The subscripts f and m stand for female and male. The capital letters represent countries as follows: A, Austria; Ew, England & Wales; F, France; Ir, Ireland; J, Japan; S, Sweden; and Sc, Scotland.

Figure 5
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Mortality in England & Wales, Sweden, the United States
and Two Regions of the United States
the Upper Midwest and the Deep South
from Age 80 to 99 in 1980-1989.

 Figure 5

Source: For England & Wales and Sweden, compiled by author from data in the Kannisto-Thatcher Oldest-Old Database, Odense University, Odense, Denmark. For the United States and the two U.S. regions, compiled by the author from data provided by the U.S. Social Security Administration. The Upper Midwest includes Minnesota and North and South Dakota. The Deep South includes Arkansas, Louisiana, Alabama, and Mississippi. People are classified by the region in which they were living when they received their social security numbers.

Note: Mortality is measured by annual central death rates. For the United States the figures pertain to the white population.

Dale G. Kratsch