Old Age Mortality in India –An Exploration from Life Expectancy at Age 60

Background: Due to the result of improving longevity the number of survivors at old ages increased in India. The annual growth rate of the population aged 60 and above is higher than the rate of growth of the total population. So the process population ageing and associate problems become serious issue in the country. This study examines the changes in old age mortality in India from 1971-2011 and also examined the age group contribution to the gain in e60. Data and Methods: Measure used here to describing the mortality change was life expectancy at age 60 (e60). Using Age Specific Death Rates from Sample Registration System, new life tables were constructed for the analysis. Pollardâ’s Decomposition analysis were applied for determining age group contribution. Results: Old age mortality in India shows a considerable decline during the period but the pace of mortality decline was slowdown after 1990. Most of the increase in life expectancy at age 60 came from the result of decreasing mortality at young old and oldest age for females. While among males decreasing mortality at young old and old-old ages was important for increase in life expectancy at age 60. Conclusion: Understanding old-age mortality trend and possible determinants are important for health care professionals for constructing health care strategies on possible mortality development in the future.