Comparison of the U.S. and USSR death rates 1970-1989
The United States had a higher death rate per capita in 1970 than the Soviet Union, with 9.4 deaths per thousand people compared to 8.2 respectively. This would change in the subsequent decades, however, as the U.S.' death rate would fall to roughly 8.7 deaths per thousand people, compared with an increase to 10.6 in the Soviet Union in the mid-1980s. While some of the Soviet Union's increase was simply due to improved reporting of deaths, particularly across Central Asia, a large part has been attributed to the role played by alcoholism in relation to accidental deaths and alcohol-related illnesses.