Relative indices of inequality (and 95% CI) for lung cancer mortality in women in selected countries by age (source: Eurothine, 2007)

The Relative Index of Inequality (RII) can be interpreted as the ratio between the rate of lung cancer mortality in the lowest educational group and the rate of lung cancer mortality in the highest educational group.

A RII higher than 1 indicates that lung cancer mortality is higher in the lowest as compared to the highest educational group, while a RII smaller than 1 indicates that lung cancer mortality is higher in the highest educational group.

The classification of the educational groups used in the figure above is adapted from the ISCED. Data apply to the 1990s and the early 2000s.

Also see EUphacts on Smoking, and Lung cancer.