Estimates of sex-age-specific mortality rates of China from 1981 to 2020

This dataset provides age- and sex-specific mortality rates for China over the period 1981–2020. The data were constructed to support the analysis presented in “Beyond sequential stages: asynchronous structural reorganisation in China’s mortality transition, 1981–2020” published on Critical Public Health, and are intended for use in demographic and population health research. The mortality schedules were derived from census and sample survey data and adjusted to address underreporting and ensure internal consistencies using a spline-Gaussian process regression (S-GPR) framework. The estimation procedure produces a continuous series of single-year age-specific mortality rates by sex, ensuring comparability across years. The details of constructing the schedules can be seen in the Suplementary of the paper mentioned above. Users should note that the data represent reconstructed mortality estimates rather than direct vital registration records. While efforts have been made to ensure internal consistency and temporal coherence, the estimates remain subject to uncertainty, especially in earlier periods with more limited data coverage. This dataset is shared to facilitate transparency, reproducibility, and further research on mortality dynamics in China and comparable contexts.