Health > Life expectancy > Life expectancy at birth > Total: Countries Compared
Author: chris.lockyer781
Life expectancy at birth reflects the number of years a newborn is expected to live, if the health and living conditions remained constant through time. It is an indicator of a country’s mortality conditions across all age groups. It is also a measure of a country’s health status as well as the quality of its health care system.
Life expectancy has risen globally and is still expected to increase over the next few decades. Since the 1950s, the average life expectancy has gone up by 20 years. As of 2011, the average life expectancy at birth worldwide is 70 years. This increase is attributed to mainly to improvements in primary health care. For instance, immunization has prevented up to 5.9 million deaths per year.
In developing countries, poverty, lack of education and prevalence of infectious diseases decrease life expectancy. Civil strife in some regions is also a contributory factor. Sub Saharan Africa has the lowest life expectancy worldwide, with an average of 53 years. This region has the highest prevalence of HIV, with 5.6 million or 11% of the total population infected.
In high income countries, the average life expectancy is 80 years while in lower income countries, it is estimated at 60 years. In developing countries, declining fertility and birth rates combined with increased life expectancy has resulted to an aging population.
In developed countries, women have higher life expectancy than men by about 7 years. This has, however, shown a decreasing trend. Women in Japan have the highest life expectancy in the world at 85 years. The gender gap is noted to be smaller in developing countries at 3 years, but is continually growing.
In developed countries, the centenarian population increases by 5.5% annually. Japan has 347 centenarians per 1 million population. The United States has 232 per million.
Citations:
1) World Health Organization: Life expectancy. http://www.who.int/gho/mortalityburdendisease/lifetables/situationtrends_text/en/
2) Earth Policy Institutes. Troubling health trends holding back progress on life expectancy. Nov 2011. http://www.earth-policy.org/data_highlights/2011/highlights21
3) Ehreth J. The global value of vaccination. Vaccine 2003:21;596-600.
4) World Population Ageing 1950-2050. http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/worldageing19502050/pdf/8chapteri.pdf
CONTENTS
Citation
Interesting observations about Health > Life expectancy > Life expectancy at birth > Total
- Japan ranked first for life expectancy > life expectancy at birth > total amongst High income OECD countries in 2009.
- United States ranked last for life expectancy > life expectancy at birth > total amongst Group of 7 countries (G7) in 2009.
- Spain ranked first for life expectancy > life expectancy at birth > total amongst European Union in 2009.
- Iceland ranked first for life expectancy > life expectancy at birth > total amongst NATO countries in 2009.
- Switzerland ranked first for life expectancy > life expectancy at birth > total amongst Europe in 2009.
- 9 of the top 10 countries by life expectancy > life expectancy at birth > total are Christian.
- France ranked second for life expectancy > life expectancy at birth > total amongst Eurozone in 2009.
- Turkey ranked last for life expectancy > life expectancy at birth > total amongst Non-religious countries in 2009.
- Australia ranked first for life expectancy > life expectancy at birth > total amongst English speaking countries in 2009.
- United Kingdom ranked last for life expectancy > life expectancy at birth > total amongst Western Europe in 2009.
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Life expectancy at birth reflects the number of years a newborn is expected to live, if the health and living conditions remained constant through time. It is an indicator of a country’s mortality conditions across all age groups. It is also a measure of a country’s health status as well as the quality of its health care system.
Life expectancy has risen globally and is still expected to increase over the next few decades. Since the 1950s, the average life expectancy has gone up by 20 years. As of 2011, the average life expectancy at birth worldwide is 70 years. This increase is attributed to mainly to improvements in primary health care. For instance, immunization has prevented up to 5.9 million deaths per year.
In developing countries, poverty, lack of education and prevalence of infectious diseases decrease life expectancy. Civil strife in some regions is also a contributory factor. Sub Saharan Africa has the lowest life expectancy worldwide, with an average of 53 years. This region has the highest prevalence of HIV, with 5.6 million or 11% of the total population infected.
In high income countries, the average life expectancy is 80 years while in lower income countries, it is estimated at 60 years. In developing countries, declining fertility and birth rates combined with increased life expectancy has resulted to an aging population.
In developed countries, women have higher life expectancy than men by about 7 years. This has, however, shown a decreasing trend. Women in Japan have the highest life expectancy in the world at 85 years. The gender gap is noted to be smaller in developing countries at 3 years, but is continually growing.
In developed countries, the centenarian population increases by 5.5% annually. Japan has 347 centenarians per 1 million population. The United States has 232 per million.
Citations:
1) World Health Organization: Life expectancy. http://www.who.int/gho/mortalityburdendisease/lifetables/situationtrends_text/en/
2) Earth Policy Institutes. Troubling health trends holding back progress on life expectancy. Nov 2011. http://www.earth-policy.org/data_highlights/2011/highlights21
3) Ehreth J. The global value of vaccination. Vaccine 2003:21;596-600.
4) World Population Ageing 1950-2050. http://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/worldageing19502050/pdf/8chapteri.pdf
Posted on 09 Apr 2014
chris.lockyer781
396 Stat enthusiast