From Macro-Statistics to Family Reconstitution Data. Causes of Death in Hungary (Sources and Databases — 19th and Early 20th Centuries)
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: This paper presents Hungarian sources that provide information on the causes of death at both individual and aggregate levels. It demonstrates how causes of death appeared in parish records from the early 19th century onwards, alongside denominational differences and legal prescriptions for recording them. The paper also outlines the process of increasing professionalism, from the mandatory recording of causes, and the involvement of coroners or physicians as death inspectors, to the introduction of civil registration, and the use of prescribed lists of illnesses and international classifications in the first half of the 20th century. The paper also discusses the completeness and reliability of parish records and civil registration, as well as the emergence of aggregate-level statistics, which influenced the content and accuracy of individual-level registration. It presents existing family reconstitution databases containing causes of death alongside digitised statistical publications, enabling a thorough analysis of the mortality transition.
Source: Historical Life Course Studies
DOI: 10.52024/hlcs25909
Authors: Péter Őri, Levente Pakot
Institution: Hungarian Central Statistical Office
Language: English
Subfield: Demography
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7154568747