Differences in mortality between indigenous and non-indigenous persons in Brazil based on the 2010 Population Census

Abstract:

There have been no previous estimates on differences in adult or overall mortality in indigenous peoples in Brazil, although such indicators are extremely important for reducing social iniquities in health in this population segment. Brazil has made significant strides in recent decades to fill the gaps in data on indigenous peoples in the national statistics. The aim of this paper is to present estimated mortality rates for indigenous and non-indigenous persons in different age groups, based on data from the 2010 Population Census. The estimates used the question on deaths from specific household surveys. The results indicate important differences in mortality rates between indigenous and non-indigenous persons in all the selected age groups and in both sexes. These differences are more pronounced in childhood, especially in girls. The indicators corroborate the fact that indigenous peoples in Brazil are in a situation of extreme vulnerability in terms of their health, based on these unprecedented estimates of the size of these differences.

Keywords:
Mortality; Censuses; Indigenous Population