A Multivariate Analysis of Mortality in Rural Africa

Even though reliable data are scarce, it appears that the continent of Africa has some of the highest mortality rates in the world. Estimates of crude death rates are of the order of seventeen per 1000 population, as compared to eleven for Asia and nine for Latin America (Kurian, 1984: 19). This study provides an analysis of the determinants of mortality in a part of Ethiopia, an area called Legeambo. While this area is small, it is similar in many important respects to other parts of rural Africa: the standard of living is low, access to sources of water for drinking, cooking, and bathing is difficult, and medical services are all but nonexistent. It is also similar to other areas in terms of its high rate of mortality. It differs from most other areas, however, in that a detailed survey of all households was undertaken recently. In consequence, a data base is available for this area, and it supports the analysis which follows, making possible a limited assessment of mortality experience. The first section describes the survey and the resultant data base. A multivariate analysis of the data is reported in the second section, and some concluding remarks and a comment on policy implications are provided in the third section.