A Look At The Average Life Expectancy From Different Countries Around The World

This article shows a detailed chart that compares the life expectancy from different countries around the world.  The chart shows the average life expectancy for men and women and also shows the average “healthy years” and “unhealthy years.”  The average life expectancy have been rising in recent years thanks to an improvement in health care related technologies as well as other causes. 

One cause of increase in the average global life expectancy is a reduction in child mortality rates and also diseases like AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis.  When resources are invested in getting rid of certain avoidable problems in developing countries the average life expectancy usually increases.  Then you have an aging population and a higher rate of people dying of certain age related illnesses like cancer and heart disease.  It is also important to emphasize the number of years people will be expected to live in ill health.  These unhealthy years usually take place around the end of life and countries dealing with an aging population will have to deal with the health costs. 

See Susan Brink, Check Out Life Spans Around The World – And Likely Years Of Ill Health, NPR, September 5, 2015.