ABSTRACT
In the 1980s, especially after 1985, mortality rates-as reflected in figures for life expectancy at birth-appear to have fallen in the Soviet Union, especially for males. The infant mortality rate has also fallen, from 31.4 in 1976 to 22.7 in 1989, though the rate remains high in comparison with the rates in most of the industrialized world. [3]
The changes in overall mortality in the Soviet Union since 1958 are depicted in Figure 18.1. [4] For Soviet males, the reported life expectancy at birth (e0) increased from 64.4 years in 1958-1959 to a post-World War II peak of 66.1 years in 1964. It then fell to the low 60s in 1980-1981, after which it began to rise, with a particularly sharp increase after 1984-1985. [5] For females, life expectancy at birth also reached a peak, at 73.8 years, in the mid-1960s, declined slightly through 1980-1981, and then regained its mid-1960s level in the late 1980s.
