Not Just How Long, but How Unequal: Lifespan Inequality by Social Class in Sweden, Cohorts 1841–1920

Marcos Castillo, Lund University
Martin Dribe, Lund University

This study examines long-term trends in lifespan inequality (the variation in ages at death) across social classes in Sweden, focusing on adult cohorts born between 1841 and 1920. While life expectancy reflects the average length of life, lifespan inequality captures how predictable survival is and reveals an additional layer of social disparity. Using Sweden’s exceptional historical data, including the Swedish Death Index (1815–2022) and linked full-count censuses (1880–1910, 1930, 1950), the study analyzes lifespan after age 40 to isolate adult mortality patterns. We focus on a life disparity measure, which represents the average years lost by death by social class, as it allows us to decompose between early age variation and old age variation. In addition, we employ the Theil index, a relative measure unaffected by proportional changes in longevity, and the variance in age at death, an absolute measure of lifespan variation. Results show that men consistently experience higher lifespan inequality than women, though inequality declined over time for both sexes. Among men, higher- and lower-white-collar workers display the greatest inequality, while farmers show the lowest levels throughout. Inequality generally declines across cohorts, particularly among lower white-collar workers, though patterns in the final cohorts are less clear. Among women, differences by social class are smaller and less consistent, with only modest declines in inequality over time. However, we found a double burden for women from the lowest social classes, who experienced both the shortest average lifespans as well as the most variation in lifespan. By providing a long-run perspective on socioeconomic disparities in longevity and lifespan predictability, this paper shows whether progress in survival has been equitably distributed or whether social divides in the certainty of life have persisted

No extended abstract or paper available

 Presented in Session 30. Mortality Inequalities Across Class, Place, and Borders