Life tables

Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia

Group for demographic analysis, estimates and projections

Dragana Paunović Radulović

Head of Unit

5 Milana Rakića St, 11 000 Belgrade

dragana.paunovic-radulovic@stat.gov.rs

+381 11  2403266

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Life tables are a fundamental demographic tool used to analyze population mortality and provide a tabular representation of mortality by age and sex. Starting from the probability of death—the core demographic indicator in life tables—all other biometric functions are calculated, including the probability of survival, number of survivors, average or expected life expectancy, and others.

Depending on the data source and methodology, there are two types of life tables: detailed or complete life tables by single years of age, which are compiled based on census data and vital statistics from the years around the census; and abridged approximate life tables by five-year age groups, which are compiled annually based on the estimated population and vital statistics data for the reference year.

Regulation on the Nomenclature of Statistical Territorial Units ("Official Gazette of RS", No. 109/2009 and 46/10).

Demography

Life tables show a systematic and comprehensive picture of mortality and are the best way to present statistically the relationships between mortality, age and sex.

Abridged or approximate life tables by five-year age groups (n = 5) are calculated every year, based on population estimates and vital statistics data for that year.

The probability of dying is the basic demographic indicator in life tables, based on which all other biometric functions (number of lives, mean lifetime or life expectancy, etc.) are derived.

Definitions of the basic indicators:

• Age x = 0, 1-4, 5-9, ..., 85 and over; 
• Mortality rates by age (_nm_x) show the number of deaths per 1000 inhabitants, by age groups;
• The probability of dying (_nq_x) is the probability that a person of x years of age will die before reaching the age of x + n years;
• Number of persons alive of x years of age (l_x) shows how many people out of 100000 inhabitants born at the same time will stay alive after x years (x = 0, 1, 5, 10, ..., 85 and over);
• Mean number of persons alive (_nL_x) shows the number of persons in a particular age group.
• Sum of mean numbers of persons alive (Т_x) shows the total number of persons alive of all following age groups.
• Life expectancy (е_x) shows how long a person of a certain age (0, 1, 5,...,85 and over) is expected to live, on average, if in terms of mortality the conditions are the same as they were at the time of calculating the tables.

Detailed life tables by single years of age and sex, for the period 2021-2023, were calculated based on the results of the Census of Population, Households and Dwellings of  September 30, 2022 and results of population natural increase statistics for the years 2021, 2022 and 2023, and those are:

1. The number of people by calendar year of birth and from the Census of September 30, 2022;
2. The number of live births, by sex, in 2021 and 2022, from the statistical survey on births;
3. The number of deaths, by calendar year of birth and sex, as follows: number of deaths after birthday in 2021, number of deaths before and after birthday, before and after the Population Census in 2022 and number of deaths before and after birthday in 2023, from the statistical survey on deaths.

Definition of the basic indicators:

• Age x = 0, ..., 100 years of age;
• The probability of dying (q_x) is the probability that a person aged x years will die before reaching the age of x + 1 years;
• The probability of survival (p_x) is the probability that a person aged x years will live to x+1 years of age;
• Number of persons alive of x years of age (l_x) shows how one closed population of inhabitants born at the same time, which initial number of persons is l₀ =100000, is successively reduced depending on the values p_x and q_x;
• Number of deaths (d_x) shows how many persons out of the number of persons alive (l_x) at a certain year of age x, will die before reaching the age of x+1 year;
• Sum of the numbers of person alive (N_x) is the number used to calculate the life expectancy (е_x) and it represents fictive sums of persons, from the set of 100000 persons alive born at the same time, who lived to 0 year of age, i.e. 1, 2,...,100 years of age;
• Life expectancy (е_x) represents, on average, how many years a person aged exactly x years will live, in terms of the same mortality conditions as they were at the time of calculating the tables. Life expectancy at birth (е₀) is a particularly important result when calculating detailed life tables, which shows how long the newborn children will live, if the mortality conditions are the same as they were in moment of making the tables.

The statistical unit used is “number”.

The statistical population is the total population.

Data on life expectancy at birth are available at the level of the Republic of Serbia and its regions, as well as areas and municipalities, while the data on biometric functions are available at the regional level.

Since 1998, the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia has no information on the AP Kosovo and Metohija, so they are not included in the coverage of the Republic of Serbia data (total).

Data are available for the period from the year 2011.

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Number.

Calendar year.

National legislation:

Law on Official Statistics (“Official Gazette of RS”, no.104/09, 24/11);

Program on Official Statistics from 2021 to 2025 (“Official Gazette of RS”, no. 24/21 from 27.3.2021.);

Regulation on establishing the Plan on Official Statistics in 2025 (“Official Gazette of RS”, no.3/2025, from 10.01.2025.).

* The above documents are available at SORS website.

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Data confidentiality is regulated by:

- Law on Official Statistics (“Official Gazette of RS”, no. 104/2009, articles 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49).

- Rulebook on statistical data protection in the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia

- Guidelines on measures of data and information protection in the Statistical Office of the Republic of Serbia

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Calendar of releases is available at SORS website. 

The publication calendar can be accessed via the link:

https://www.stat.gov.rs/calendar/.

The users are informed that the data are published through press releases.

The frequency of publishing the results of “Abridged Life Tables” is annual, while “Complete Life Tables” are published once every ten years for the census year.

Estimates of population for the Republic of Serbia, press release

"Demography statistics" (Republic of Serbia)

Municipalities and regions of the Republic of Serbia 

Abridged life table, 2013-2017

Abridged life table, 2018-2022

Complete life table, 2010-2012

Complete life table, 2021-2023

The data on life tables are available on the SORS website.

DevInfo

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Abridged life table

Complete life tables

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Besides its usage in the mortality analysis for demographic purposes, the indicator life expectancy is also applied to produce demographic population projections, which are utilized to formulate hypotheses on future mortality trends as well as to calculate various indicators. Data on life expectancy are particularly valuable for actuaries and insurance activities, since they are used as a technical basis to set up life insurance premiums.

The data are complete.

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The data are published according to the release calendar.

 The data are comparable.

The data are comparable.

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Detailed or complete life tables by specific age, are calculated on the basis of population census data and vital statistics data in the years immediately before and after the census year, while abridged life tables, by five-year age groups, are produced annually, on the basis of estimated population and vital statistics data for the referent year.

Abridged Life Tables – annual data collection

Complete Life Tables – data are collected at ten-year frequency

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