Life Expectancy Dynamics In Post-Soviet Countries From European Region: Convergences And Divergences

This article presents the results of the comparative study on the mortality and life expectancy at birthdynamics in Moldova and six other post-Soviet countries in the European region – Belarus, Russia, Ukraine,Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania. The aim of the research is to highlight the convergences and divergences, aswell as the causes which lead Moldova to lag behind in this field. The study is based on Human Mortality Database (HMD) and Human Causes-of-Death Database(HCD) data. For Moldova, mortality tables for the resident population were used (with the exclusion ofmigrants who have been absent from the country for more than 12 months). Despite the similar trends in the dynamics of life expectancy at birth in the selected countries sincethe mid-1990s, there is an increasing divergence in this respect. The Baltic countries, especially Estonia,have succeeded in achieving significant progress in reducing mortality and increasing life expectancy atbirth, while Belarus, Russia, Ukraine and Moldova remain outliers. Decomposition of mortality by causesof death demonstrates that the reduction in mortality by cardiovascular diseases has had a major impacton the development of the gap in life expectancy at birth observed between Estonia and Moldova.