Death in the United States, 2007
"Key findings
Data from the National Vital Statistics System, Mortality

In 2007, the age-adjusted death rate for the United States reached a record low of 760.3 per 100,000 population. Life expectancy at birth reached a record high of 77.9 years.

States in the southeast region have higher death rates than those in other regions of the country.

In 2007, the five leading causes of death were heart disease, cancer, stroke, chronic lower respiratory diseases, and accidents. These accounted for over 64 percent of all deaths in the United States.

White females have the longest life expectancy (80.7 years), followed by black females (77.0 years).

The gap in life expectancy between white persons and black persons declined by 35 percent between 1989 and 2007. The race differential was 4.6 years in 2007.

Mortality in the United States, as summarized by the age-adjusted death rate-a measure that accounts for changes in the age distribution of the population-has declined in an almost uninterrupted manner since 1960. The death rate is now 43 percent lower than in 1960 (declining from 1,339.2 per 100,000 standard population in 1960 to 760.3 in 2007) (1,2). However, not all Americans have benefited equally from this decline. While there is a decline in mortality among all groups, longstanding gaps only recently began to diminish. Much of the recent improvements in death rates and life expectancy for all population groups can be attributed to ongoing reductions in death rates from major causes of death such as heart disease, cancer, chronic lower respiratory diseases, and stroke (1)."