Indirect Estimation of the Infant Mortality Rate in Colombia,1964-2008

Abstract

We apply indirect and retrospective methods to analyze the time dynamics of the Infant Mortality Rate (IMR) in Colombia from 1964 to 2008, using two different sources of data. The first estimates use the Brass method on the basis of census microdata between 1973 and 2005; specifically, we calculate the IMR using the Trussell and the Coale-Trussell variants of the classical Brass equation. In our second approach, we estimate the IMR using the Somoza-Rutstein retrospective analysis and Demographic and Health Surveys from 1986 to 2010. Our results show a substantial reduction in infant mortality during the second half of the XXth century, as well as a decreasing urban-rural gap. We also provide evidence suggesting a systematic bias of previous research that analyzed the IMR during the 1990s.The decrease of the IMR in Colombia has been reinforced by a declining proportion of deaths due to infectious diseases.