With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Caucasian countries have experienced remarkable migration flows, political conflicts, and deterioration of civil registration systems. The reassessment of the populations of Armenia and Georgia after censuses carried out in the early 2000s enables researchers to re-estimate recent mortality levels in both countries. Vital statistics from the 1980s to the present are presented and discussed. Infant mortality is corrected according to sample surveys, and mortality above age 60 is estimated using model life tables. These estimates show that trends in life expectancy were similar in the two countries - unfavourable during the 1990s, especially for Georgian males for whom health progress is still low.