Life table construction on the basis of two enumerations of a closed population

The author demonstrates that an accurate detailed life table that represents average mortality experience between two censuses can be constructed if the censuses provide accurate records of the single-year age distribution of a closed population. This life table can begin at age zero if accurate data on the annual number of births during the inter-censal period are available; otherwise the first age in the life table must equal the duration of time between the censuses. "The estimation technique involves the calculation of the number of persons attaining each age during the period between the censuses and the determination of the average rate of increase in the number at each individual age. The success of the technique comes from the use of interpolation to calculate how many in each cohort attain each exact age the cohort passes through between the censuses." The estimation technique is tested using two alternative methods of interpolation. Some illustrations based on data for Sweden and China are included.