CIA World Factbook - Margin of Error

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virgil
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CIA World Factbook - Margin of Error

Post by virgil »

What is the margin of error for the factbook's life expectancy data, and where would the documentation state such? I've seen some claim that with statistics, you should generally claim about +/-5% on census data, which can drastically skew the rankings of various countries for life expectancy.
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erik
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Post by erik »

The margin of error will likely depend upon sample size and other factors, so I would not expect it to be the same for every population.

And if you want to get more precise, it isn't like even the margin of error generally cited is a 100% confidence either. So there's more wiggle room there.

But yes, deviations in estimates could well skew rankings for any countries that are moderately close to one another (i.e. most of the developed world).
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