This Atlas provides Spanish and international readers, and specifically those concerned with public health issues, with extremely detailed geographical information about the situation and time trends in total mortality and mortality due to specific causes in municipalities or aggregated municipalities (small areas) of Spain in the period 1984-2004. Mortality is one of the best health indicators available nationwide. Particularly, the book analyzes the mortality risk of 2,218 small areas by reference to the main causes of death in women and men.

The information in this Atlas helps to locate the geographical regions with the worst and best health records, to identify the specific areas where risk is highest, and to know the areas that have evolved unfavourably. This information may be useful to help plan more effective social and public health policies.

An electronic version of the Atlas allows visitors to access the contents in full or to consult mortality data per individual municipality with a breakdown by sex and cause of death.