1.2. General mortality and life expectancy
In the period between 2001 and 2008, the last year for which data is available, the raw mortality rate did not undergo any great variation, remaining more or less stable around values of about 10 per 1,000 amongst men and 9.7 per 1,000 amongst the female population, despite the fact that the absolute number of deaths increased, from 556,892 cases in 2001 to 581,470 in 2008. An analysis of the standardised rates for the 2001-2008 period, on the other hand, shows a significant decline in mortality: −13% for men and −11% for women.
The analysis of infant mortality between 2001 and 2008 reveals a steady drop, with a reduction during the period of 22% for males and 24% for females. The number of deaths in the first year of life for males dropped from 1,370 in 2001 to 1,108 in 2008 and for females from 1,112 to 889 cases, respectively, despite an increase in the number of live births in the same period. The variations in the infantile mortality rate are even more consistent: dropping from 4.92 per 1,000 live births in 2001 to 3.79 in 2008 for males and from 4.21 to 3.21 for females.
The geography of mortality on a regional level underwent a number of changes over the eight years considered, however the drop in the standardised rates observed nationwide was common, albeit to differing degrees in the various Regions. The improvements were generally highest in the Regions that were originally disadvantaged and, although a strong correlation remains between 2008 and 2001, the differentiation between the extremes was lower.
The most favourable situation remained in the Marche region, with the lowest rate for both sexes. For women, only the autonomous provinces of Trent in 2001 and Bolzano in 2008 had lower mortality values than the Marche.
One of the Regions experiencing the most significant improvements for both sexes was Sardinia.
An analysis of the Regions with the highest mortality levels, on the other hand, shows Campania to be in last place, despite the significant improvements for both sexes in the standardised rate values. Sicily continued to occupy penultimate place for female mortality, despite a significant improvement in the rate. However, there was a worrying worsening in the male rates ranking, in which the same Region passed from levels lower than the national average to values considerably higher: from 127.68 per 10,000 inhabitants in 2001 (national value: 129.41) to 116.01 in 2008 (national value: 112.38).
An analysis of the geography of infantile mortality in 2008 shows significant regional differences: the persistent disadvantage of Southern Italy is evident, with an infantile mortality rate equal to 4 per thousand live births, compared to Central and, particularly, Northern Italy, which recorded values of 3.6 and 3 per 1,000, respectively.
As regards the analysis of survival nationwide, life expectancy at birth in 2008 was 78.8 years for men and 84.1 for women, whereas survival at 65 years was estimated to be 17.9 and 21.6 years, respectively.