Final answer:
Mortality refers to the number of deaths in a population over a specific period, specifically the number of deaths per 1,000 people in a population in a given year. The mortality rate is a vital demographic measure that indicates the health and growth of a population.
Step-by-step explanation:
Mortality refers to the number of deaths in a population during a given time period. Therefore, the correct answer to the question is that mortality refers to 'The number of deaths for every 1,000 people in a population in a given year.'
The mortality rate is a measure used to represent this, which can be specific to a cause or general, and expressed as either the percentage of the population that has died or as the number of deaths per 100,000 persons. An important concept related to mortality is the crude death rate, which is the number of deaths per year for every 1,000 people alive in a society.
These rates are crucial to understanding population health, demographics, and the overall growth or decline of a population. For instance, the infant mortality rate is used as a reliable indicator of a population's overall health level and involves the annual number of infant deaths per 1,000 live births.
It is important to differentiate between mortality and other demographic measures such as the birth rate, which measures the number of births per 1,000 people in a given year, and fertility rate, which looks at the number of children born. When mortality rates and birth rates are analyzed together, they contribute significantly to our understanding of population dynamics and societal health.