[Estimated coverage of death counts and adult mortality in Mozambique based on census data]

In 1997 and 2007, the questionnaire used in the Population Census in Mozambique included a question on deaths at home in the previous 12 months. This study aimed to evaluate the quality of mortality data for the country as a whole and its three major geographic regions. More specifically, based on formal demographic methods, the authors sought to evaluate the quality of information in terms of degree of coverage of death counts and mortality structure, summarized by the probability of death between 15 and 60 years of age. The 2007 census enumerated between 65% and 90% of deaths in Mozambique, suggesting that mortality estimates using direct methods underestimate mortality in the country. The study showed that there has been progress in the quality of death counts in the census, and that in the absence of high-quality vital statistics, population censuses can be a good source of mortality data in developing countries.