Reconstruction of historical series of life tables and of age-sex structures for the Austrian population in the 19th and the first half of the 20th century

The paper presents the method and results of reconstructing the Austrian life tables and population age-sex composition for single years in 1870-1940. It also proposes estimates of life tables for the years 1819-1869. The time period covered by the paper is marked by improvements in life expectancy, unstable births dynamics, distortions due to war, territorial changes and migration. For the years since 1870 a multistage reconstructing technique is used which enables to make use of both reference life tables and census populations and also of vital statistics available for the years between censuses. First, life tables are interpolated and used to obtain population projections without migration. Then, net migration between censuses is roughly approximated and—together with deaths statistics— used to improve estimates for life tables. Finally, the estimates for net migration and population age-sex composition between censuses are also improved. Estimates for life tables in 1819-1869 are based on regression models developed from the estimates for the period 1870-1910.