International comparisons: introduction

This section of the website aims to show how health in Scotland compares to other countries.  Currently, the section includes two main resources: 

• the Scotland and European Health for All (HfA) Database 2007 - a database of a wide range of health and health-related indicators, with an interpretive briefing paper
• international mortality comparisons - including the 2006 report, 'Scottish Mortality in a European Context', which compares Scottish mortality trends with those in a range of other European countries.

Please note that whilst both the above resources include mortality rates, different age groups are used and the causes of death analysed, although mainly overlapping, also vary.

A brief overview of data sources and publications containing health and well-being data for European and other countries can be found on the international data sources page.