The World Mortality 2019, prepared by the Population Division of the Department of Economic and Social Affairs of the United Nations Secretariat, assesses changes in mortality risks at the global, regional and country levels, focusing in particular on the initial implementation period of the Programme of Action of the International Conference on Population and Development, from 1994 to 2015. The report reviews the survival targets outlined in the ICPD Programme of Action and discusses them in the context of other internationally agreed mortality reduction goals, including the Sustainable Development Goals. It evaluates the progress of regions and countries with respect to life expectancy at birth, child mortality, mortality in the reproductive and working ages, and life expectancy at advanced ages and discusses the contributions of improvements in survival at different stages of life towards the achievement of the ICPD survival targets. Disparities in progress towards those targets are partially explained by examining differences between selected countries in the sex and age patterns of mortality reduction. Some priorities for future reductions in mortality risks are discussed.