European Standard Population (ESP). This is a fictitious population used in the calculation of directly standardised mortality rates (DSR). The DSR is a mortality rate which has been standardised to take into account differences in the age (and gender) structure of the population. If the age (and gender) structure of the populations are not taken into consideration, then any differences in the mortality rates between the two populations could be potentially explained by differences in the age (and gender) structures of the populations. This ‘standardisation’ allows two mortality rates to be compared on a like-for-like basis. The standard population for comparison of DSRs is usually the ESP. The ESP was updated in 2013, and the majority of analyses present DSRs standardised to the ESP 2013 (the previous ESP was produced in 1976). A higher proportion of older people occur in the fictitious ESP 2013 compared to the ESP 1976 to reflect the ageing population.
Within the ESP 2013, there are 1,000 infants aged under one year, 4,000 children aged 1-4, 5,500 children and young people aged 5-9, 10-14 and 15-19 years, 6,000 people aged 20-24 and 25-29 years, 6,500 people aged 30-34 years, 7,000 people aged 35-39, 40-44, 45-49 and 50-54 years, 6,500 people aged 55-59 years, 6,000 people aged 60-64 years, 5,500 people aged 65-69 years, 5,000 people aged 70-74 years, 4,000 people aged 75-79 years, 2,500 people aged 80-84 years, 1,500 people aged 85-89 years, 800 people aged 90-94 years and 200 people aged 95+ years giving a sum of 100,000 people overall.
When using the ESP 2013, the age groups 90-94 and 95+ years are sometimes combined, but the Office for National Statistics does not recommend using 85+ as the oldest age group when applying standardisation.
Also see Directly Standardised Rate.