This data visualization presents the distribution of deaths among groups of countries according to income. It highlights disparities in the distribution pattern of mortality among poor, average and rich countries in the Region of the Americas.

Proportional mortality was stratified by broad groups of causes of death --according to the Global Burden of Disease list-- and age groups. Countries were grouped according to income, using World Bank classification of economies. Data can be filtered by years and sex.  

Over the years --from 1996 to 2007-- it is observed an improvement of proportional mortality in less that 1 years old and 1 to 4 years old age groups and increments of proportional mortality in age groups of older population but the distribution pattern continues being similar. Mortality in the chronic non communicable diseases group is the most frequent independently of the income. 

Looking at year 2007, it is observed that:

• ill-defined causes of death, the external causes and the communicable, maternal, perinatal, and nutritional causes are more frequent in the low and lower-middle income group, followed by the upper-middle income group. In high income group these causes have a very low frequency
• in the higher income countries about 45% of deaths occur on the age group of 80 and older years old. Both age groups, 60-79 and 80+ years old accounted for 80% of deaths
• in the low and lower-middle income group --poorer countries--, premature deaths are very frequent: 27% of deaths occur in the age group of 80 and higher years old, almost half of the rich countries (45%); deaths in the group of 20-44 years old is three times higher than the high income countries; deaths in the group of 10-19 years old is also three times higher than rich countries, having the external causes (injuries) as the most frequent causes of death; mortality of the children under 5 is 3% of total deaths, meanwhile in richest countries this proportion is pretty close to cero; mortality of children under 1 year old is 7% of total deaths, meanwhile in the group of rich countries it is 1%.