Global Gains in Life Expectancy

Health Expectancy Gains In The 20th Century

The twentieth century has seen a significant increase in average life expectancies around the world. The majority of infants born around the world in 1900 would not live past 50 years; today, average life expectancies in 36 countries around the world have surpassed 80 years of age, with the leader in 2014 being Japan, with an average life expectancy of 84.46 years. While those countries with life expectancies over 80 are mostly developed, high-income nations, gains have also been made among developing nations, particularly in the latter half of the century. For instance, in Eastern Asia, including China, Mongolia, Japan, and South and North Korea, a child born in 1950 could have expected to live 45 years. Today, that figure has nearly doubled, with average life expectancies at 74 years.

Reasons for Increase

Each country has its own specific set of health-related issues and needs. Many factors can contribute to low life expectancies, including poor quality healthcare, inadequate healthcare delivery, inequitable access, lack of insurance. Low life expectancies can also be caused by high rates of disease, illness, violence, or injury. In many countries, the risk of death from a communicable disease has decreased significantly with preventative and educational measures, as well as new technologies and resources to treat and cure these illnesses, making individuals far less likely to die mid-life. Health-related habits have also improved around the world, as knowledge increases. Fewer people are smoking and therefore fewer people are dying from smoking-related illnesses. Nutrition has also improved around the world.

Rich Versus Poor Countries

Gaps in life expectancies are still present between low- and high-income countries. In 2012, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that a boy born in a high-income country – such as the United States, Sweden, or Australia – could expect to live to the age of 76 years. That’s sixteen years longer than a boy born in the same year in a low-income country – such as India, Nigeria, or Myanmar – who could expect to live to the age of 60 years. Among females, the difference between being born in a poor or rich country is even more substantial, with females born in 2012 in high-income countries living for an average of 82 years, compared to females born in low-income countries living for only 63 years, on average. Women from a particular region or country almost always live longer than their male counterparts, except in some regions of Africa where HIV/AIDS deaths have resulted in the deaths of thousands of women prior to mid-life.

Top Causes of Loss of Life

In recent years, the top causes of death have shifted from communicable to non-communicable diseases. The diseases that kill the most people every year include coronary heart disease, respiratory infections, and strokes. In developed countries, increases in life expectancy have resulted from new techniques and treatments for these diseases, although they still claim 90% of all years of life lost. However, in developing countries, communicable diseases are still an area of concern. In many African countries, 70% of all years of life lost are the result of infectious diseases or complications from infectious diseases. HIV/AIDS has had a significant impact in sub-Saharan African countries as well, where some life expectancies have decreased since 1990 as opposed to increasing.

Current Challenges

Given the increases in life expectancy that have been made in recent years, a new set of challenges has arisen. For instance, in the case of tuberculosis, although millions were successfully treated in the last two decades, thousands also developed resistance to tuberculosis drugs. Among children, obesity is on the rise. It is estimated that 44 million children around the world are obese or overweight, a figure from 2012. Almost one-quarter of these children were in the African region, which will present new challenges in maintaining health as the population ages. And as longevity continues to increase – there is no evidence that it will stabilize – the question becomes one of caring for an aging population. People aged 85 and over currently make up eight percent of those aged 65 or older. Most of these people reside in developed countries, where healthcare systems will continue to address their unique medical needs.