MEASUREMENT OF ADULT MORTALITY IN LESS-DEVELOPED-COUNTRIES - A COMPARATIVE REVIEW

This paper compares the direct and indirect methods used to measure ad ult mortality in the developing world. No other approach can substitut e fully for accurate and complete vital registration, but in many coun tries it is unrealistic to expect the registration system to cover the majority of the population in the foreseeable future. In these countr ies attempts to use the system as a source of statistical data should probably be abandoned. The difficulties involved in measuring adult mo rtality using surveys and other ad hoc inquiries are discussed. Even t hough the problems are greater than those encountered in measuring chi ld mortality, information can be collected that is of value for planni ng and forecasting. While the choice of methods must depend on each co untry's situation, direct questions require very large samples and are unreliable in single-round inquiries. On the other hand, although ind irect methods provide less detailed and up-to-date information than is ideal, they are adequate for many practical purposes. In particular, the experience of the 1980s suggests that questions about orphanhood p erform better than earlier assessments indicated, and recent methodolo gical developments have circumvented some of the limitations of the in direct approach.