ABSTRACT
Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania have much in common in their historical, social, and economic developments. The relatively advanced state of public health care and the economic development in the Baltic region have contributed to a higher level of life expectancy at birth (e0) of its population in comparison with other regions of European Russia at the end of the 19th century. Life expectancy in the Kovno, Kurland, and Livland provinces was the highest among 11 nationalities living in separate administrative districts of former European Russia in 1896-1897 and exceeded the life-expectancy level in some developed nations. The highest indexes were among Latvians: 43.1 years for males and 46.9 years for females (Ptoukha, 1960).
