Mortality at Late Age for Major U.S. Race-Ethnic Groups

Ward Kingkade, U.S. Census Bureau

Ethnic differences in mortality at late age have attracted considerable discussion, most notably in terms of the Black/White crossover in age-specific death rates as well as the significantly lower death rates among the Hispanic population relative to others. The proposed paper presents an analysis of U.S. mortality data in race-ethnic detail, by sex and single-year age, from age 60 to 100+, relying on a time series of mortality rates from 1984 to 1999 for three major race-ethnic categories (Hispanic, Black Non-Hispanic, and Non-Black Non-Hispanic). The dynamics of mortality rates by sex and single-year age for these categories are examined to discern whether there has been convergence or divergence in the mortality schedules at ages 60 and older. The impact of alternative graduations, including those suggested by Thatcher and associates (1998) are investigated.