Death rates: CIA figures

[FireGarden]

I can't be reading this right:
https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2066.html

Iraq -- 5.26 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Perhaps they got the decimal point in the wrong place:

Ireland -- 7.79 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Isle of Man -- 11.1 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Israel -- 6.17 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Italy -- 10.5 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Jamaica -- 6.59 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Japan -- 8.98 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Jersey -- 9.32 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Jordan -- 2.68 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)


From the CIA's glossary -- Death Rate is:

This entry gives the average annual number of deaths during a year per 1,000 population at midyear; also known as crude death rate. The death rate, while only a rough indicator of the mortality situation in a country, accurately indicates the current mortality impact on population growth. This indicator is significantly affected by age distribution, and most countries will eventually show a rise in the overall death rate, in spite of continued decline in mortality at all ages, as declining fertility results in an aging population.

Are they not including violent deaths? Even so -- is medical care/health better in Iraq than Italy or Japan?

Better to be young and in a war zone than to be old in Japan?

 

[Puppycow]

Your link doesn't work for me. 2.68 in Jordan, so its about twice Jordan's

 

[WildCat]

Better to be young and in a war zone than to be old in Japan?

You're close! I think something like 60% (going by memory here!) of Iraq's population is under the age of 18, so you don't have as many deaths per capita from natural causes as countries with an older demographic. Much of the Middle East shares this demographic, which is why Jordan's is so low.

 

[FireGarden]

Iraq
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Iraq

0-14 years: 39.7% (male 5,398,645; female 5,231,760)
15-64 years: 57.3% (male 7,776,257; female 7,576,726)
65 years and over: 3% (male 376,700; female 423,295) (2006 est.)

quite a remarkable stat. I hadn't realised it was so extreme.

Italy
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Italy

0-14 years: 14.8% (male 4,181,946; female 3,935,565)
15-64 years: 66.5% (male 19,590,497; female 19,256,747)
65 years and over: 18.7% (male 4,608,479; female 6,484,243)

Jordan
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Jordan
0-14 years: 33.8% (male 1,018,070/female 976,442)
15-64 years: 62.4% (male 1,966,794/female 1,716,255)
65 years and over: 3.9% (male 111,636/female 117,563) (2006 est.)

 

[Puppycow]

Kuwait 2.39 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)

Iraq sounds about right to me since they have fewer old people. Yes, old people die at even higher rates than young people in a low-intensity war.