The following data are documented in the tables:
- The data on which graphs 1 and 2 are based, also showing the absolute case numbers. These data are presented in this edition for the first time, since many readers would like to have the original data on which these graphic representations are based for their own use.
- The data on which the absolute-scale maps are based. The tables list the mortality data for the 544 mapped districts (and cities with district status), the 16 German states, and for Germany as a whole, giving separate data for the western and eastern portions of the country. The sequence of entries follows the usual hierarchy, starting in the west with the northernmost state of Schleswig-Holstein and proceeding south, then moving east to the new German states and starting in the north with Mecklenburg-West Pomerania and again proceeding south. The tables are organized such that the data for males for the two 5-year periods 1981-1985 and 1986-1990 appear on the left while the data for females for the same regions and same 5-year periods appear on the right.
The table columns supply the following information:
- Name of the region. The names of larger political divisions that are not portrayed on the maps appear in boldface type (Germany as a whole, western Germany, eastern Germany, German states, administrative regions). The districts and cities with district status are shown in normal type.
- The average of the absolute number of deaths during the 5-year period on which the age-standardized mortality rates are based. Fractions of cases appear in this column as a result of averaging.
- The age-standardized mortality rate in the region for the 5-year period in question (see "Methods of Representation" for method of calculation).
- The standard deviation of the age-standardized mortality rates, from which the reader can calculate a confidence interval if the case numbers are sufficiently large (see "Methods of Representation" for method of calculation).