Editorial Policy

Last reviewed: 7 October 2026.

Death Calculator publishes a statistical mortality model and the data behind it. Because the subject matter touches health and personal risk, we hold ourselves to explicit editorial standards rather than leaving them implicit.

How we source data

Country life-expectancy baselines come from named, public sources — the UN World Population Prospects, WHO Global Health Observatory, and national statistical offices such as the CDC/NCHS, ONS, Statistics Canada, AIHW, and Eurostat. Every baseline is labelled with its source organisation and data year on the data sources table, rather than being presented as an unattributed figure. We do not use modelled or estimated figures from unnamed sources, and we do not extrapolate a country's baseline into a year the source has not published data for.

How the model is reviewed

The Gompertz–Makeham model's structure and lifestyle adjustment ranges are documented in full on the methodology page and are reviewed periodically against current published research. The model version and data version are both displayed on the results page and in the site footer, so a visible change in either number means the model or its inputs were updated.

Framing standards

We do not describe any output as a prediction of an individual's actual date or time of death. Every result is labelled as a statistical, population-level estimate, and the disclaimer is repeated at the point of use, not only in a footer link. Lifestyle adjustments are described as associations observed in population research, not as guaranteed personal outcomes.

Corrections

If you find a sourcing error, an outdated baseline, or a methodology description that no longer matches the live model, tell us via the contact page. We review correction requests against the cited source and update the page, the model version number, or both, where the request is substantiated.

Independence and conflicts of interest

Death Calculator is independent. The site does not sell insurance, supplements, or medical tests, and no third party is able to pay to change a result, a data source, or an editorial claim on this site. If that ever changes for any part of the site, this policy will be updated to disclose it before the change takes effect.

Advertising

If advertising is enabled on this site, ads will be clearly distinguishable from editorial and calculator content, will not be permitted to influence the model's outputs, and will be disclosed in the privacy policy alongside any cookies or tracking they introduce.