MPIDR Technical Report

A VBA program for data extraction from the WHO Mortality Database

Andreev, E. M.
MPIDR Technical Report TR-2010-004, 5 pages.
Rostock, Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (May 2010)

Abstract

The WHO Mortality Database (WHOMD) contains data on populations and deaths classified by sex, age, and detailed causes of death for all countries reporting mortality statistics to the WHO. For many industrialized countries, these data cover a long period starting in the early 1950s. The database includes four huge datasets corresponding to four revisions of the International Classification of Diseases from ICD7 to ICD10. The file format and size make it difficult for inexperienced users to extract data. The WHO itself does not provide a program for extracting data from the database. The Excel spreadsheet WHO-db.xls includes a VBA program permitting the user to extract data from the WHOMD files for a chosen country, calendar period, and single or grouped causes of death. It also allows the user to retrieve data for several countries and years.
The Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research (MPIDR) in Rostock is one of the leading demographic research centers in the world. It's part of the Max Planck Society, the internationally renowned German research society.