Urban/Rural Disparities in Male Surmortality in Hungary

Abstract

Based on data of life expectancy at birth in Hungary, the paper analyses the spatial stability of higher male surmortality in villages than in towns or in Budapest. (In 1987, Hungarian men lived 9,909 years less than women in villages, 7,55 years less in towns or 7,06 years less in Budapest). The paper examines : 1 . To what extent can high male mortality alone "explain" male surmortality in urban and in rural areas (or: does the geographical pattern of male mortality differ from that of male surmortality?); 2. How is male surmortality in large cities affected by their regional location? 3. Is there an "optimal" settlement size group considering male and female mortality both individually and jointly?