Cohort mortality in Sweden (pdf)

Cohort mortality in SwedenPeriod data3. Period dataSharp variations ofin the mortality rates inof the18th centuryDuring the latter half of the 18th century, the mortality rates varieddrasticallysharply from year to year. Usually, about 3 percent of thepopulation died eachvery year, but in some years the mortality ratewas much higher. The Swedish people were hard hit by epidemicsthat were often behind these high mortality rates. 1773 and 1774were two extreme years with very high mortality rates. Often incombination with wars and poor harvests, epidemics swept acrossthe country and resulted in manyin a high number of deaths. Insome years the epidemics were so severe that the number of deathsexceeded the number of births. This was the case in 1808 and 1809.In 1809 alone, 33 000 persons died of typhoid and dysentery. Thisfigure corresponds to nearly one third of all deaths that year.Figure 3.1Crude mortality rate per 1000. Years 1750–2008Mortality rate504030201001750 1800 1850 1900 1950 2000 YearStatistics Sweden 21