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There are several different mortality rates used to monitor the level of mortality in populations. In humanitarian emergencies, the following are most commonly used:
Crude mortality rate
- Counts all deaths
- All causes
- All ages and both sexes
- Denominator includes entire population
- All ages and both sexes
Age-specific mortality rate
- Counts only deaths in specific age group
- Usually calculated for children less than 5 years of age
- Denominator includes only persons in that age group
There are also mortality rates which are not really rates. They use live births as the denominator instead of the actual group in which deaths are counted:
Infant mortality rate
Counts deaths in children less than 12 months of age, divides by number of live births in same time period
Maternal mortality rate
Counts deaths in women due to pregnancy or child birth, divides by number of live births in same time period
Under-5 mortality rate
Counts deaths in the first 5 years of life, divides by number of live births in the hypothetical cohort of newborns.
