Factor analysis to the study of the mortality of Costa Rica. period 1900-2010

Abstract

The mortality is one of the components of the demographic dynamics constituted as an essential pointer of a population’s health status reflection, that’s why it is extremely important for the societies’ development to know about its behavior. The objective of the current investigation is to build a factor analysis model by applying the technique of main components to a death rate set, according to age and gender groups, in order to identify influential components in Costa Rica’s mortality between 1900 and 2010. The factor analysis allowed us to initially identify three main factors which show in a 96,6 % the variability in Costa Rica’s mortality. It is expected from these estimates to contribute with the study of mortality, its behaviors and implications for the development of the country. At the same time, these estimates are expected to work as a base, with the purpose of complementing further studies with the achievements of this research.