Explore the Data Exercises

1. Make a copy of the blank Comparative Data Table and label the first column Countries, the second column Infant Mortality Rate (per 1,000 live births), 1998, and the third Life Expectancy at Birth, 1998. Then using the Social Data Tables, fill in the table according to the following instructions.

1. Read the definition of infant mortality rate. Then find the countries in each region that have the highest and the lowest infant mortality rates for 1998. Write the names of these countries and their regions in the left hand column. If two or more countries have the same rate, please choose one.
2. In the second column, fill in the infant mortality rates for each of your chosen countries.
3. Read the definition of life expectancy at birth. Then fill in the third column with 1998 life expectancy at birth data for each of your selected countries.
4. Compare the data and make a statement about the relationship between infant mortality and life expectancy at birth. Is your statement true for all regions?

2. Make a copy of the blank Comparative Data Table and label the first column Countries, the second column Life expectancy at birth, 1998, the third column Population growth rate, 1980-98, the fourth column GNP per capita, 1998 and the fifth Access to safe water, 1990-96. Then using the text and the Basic Data Tables, fill in the chart according to the following instructions.

1. Choose a low-income country in Sub-Saharan Africa and one in Asia (South and East) and the Pacific and write their names in the first column.
2. Choose a middle-income country in each of the following regions and add them to the first column: South America, Europe and Central Asia, and Middle East and North Africa.
3. Choose a high-income country in North and Central America and the Caribbean, one in Europe and Central Asia, and one in Asia (South and East) and the Pacific and add them to the first column.
4. Label each country in your data table with an L, M, or H to show which income group it belongs to: low, middle, or high.
5. Read the definitions of life expectancy at birth, population growth rate, GNP per capita, and access to safe water. Go to the Basic Data Tables, and for each of your countries find the 1998 life expectancy at birth, 1980-98 population growth rate, 1998 GNP per capita, and 1990-96 percentage of population with access to safe water, and write this information in the appropriate columns. If data for one of the indicators are not available, select another country from the same income group and region.
6. Rank the countries, with "1" equaling the highest life expectancy at birth and "8" the lowest. Write the appropriate ranking number in parentheses after the data in column 2.
7. Study your chart and answer the following questions:
   • In the countries with a life expectancy of less than 55 years, are the other indicators high or low?
   • In the countries with a life expectancy of 55-64 years, are the other indicators higher or lower than in the countries with a life expectancy of less than 55 years?
   • In the countries with a life expectancy of 65-69 years, are the other indicators higher or lower than in the countries with less than 65 years?
   • In the countries with a life expectancy of 70 or more years, are the other indicators higher or lower than in the other countries?
   • Does life expectancy at birth follow the same trend as the other development indicators in your chart? Explain.

Explore the Data Exercise: Print version with answers | Work on line