Comment: In each sex, the highest mortality rate on record at age 60 to 69 years is that for 1891. A sudden sharp decline in mortality began in 1970 for men, and then in
1990 for women. In percentage terms, these decreases are still gathering pace.
Method: Mortality rates were downloaded from the Human Mortality Database (see www.mortality.org or
www.humanmortality.de)
on 4 December 2009. The plotted lines connect unsmoothed values.
Comment: In each sex, the highest mortality rate on record at age 60 to 69 years is that for 1891. A sudden sharp decline in mortality began in 1970 for men, and then in 1990 for women. In percentage terms, these decreases are still gathering pace.
Method: Mortality rates were downloaded from the Human Mortality Database (see www.mortality.org or www.humanmortality.de) on 4 December 2009. The plotted lines connect unsmoothed values.