Mortality in New Zealand and England and Wales

This paper compares age-specific mortality rates in England and Wales with those of New Zealand. Differences in rates are greatest at the younger age groups, and are particularly high for infants under 1 year and children between 1 and 5 years. The age-specific mortality rates for females under 25 years and for males under 35 years are analysed by causes of death in order to discover where the main differences between the two countries occur, and for infant mortality in England and Wales a further analysis has been made by social class. The greatest room for improvement in England and Wales mortality rates, as compared with New Zealand rates, is at ages under 5 years, and in infant mortality in particular the greatest differences between England and Wales and New Zealand rates by causes of death are for those causes usually associated with environmental influences.