[lbo-talk] RE:Maternal mortality rate in India declines

[Ira Glazer]

As I understand it, a 'lakh' = 100,000.  Thus, these statistics can't be 
right.  The latest estimate for India's IMR (infant mortality rate) is 
about 55 per 1000 live births. That would equate to 5500 per 100,000 (or 
per lakh). Unless, of course, a lakh = 1000.  If, however, a lakh is 
indeed equal to 100,000, then the figure cited in the article of 58 per 
lakh would imply an IMR .58 per 1000 live births.  To put this in 
context, the lowest IMR in the world is a bit more than 2 per 1000 live 
births, and occurs in Singapore (the Scandinavian countries and Japan 
have IMRs roughly between 2.5 and 3.5  per 1000 live births.)  The 
figures for the MMR (maternal mortality rate) seem correct; the use of 
lakh there seems to indicate it equals 100,000, since MMRs are usually 
defined per 100,000 live births.