Afghanistan | Life expectancy at birth, total (years)

Life expectancy at birth indicates the number of years a newborn infant would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the same throughout its life. Development relevance: Mortality rates for different age groups (infants, children, and adults) and overall mortality indicators (life expectancy at birth or survival to a given age) are important indicators of health status in a country. Because data on the incidence and prevalence of diseases are frequently unavailable, mortality rates are often used to identify vulnerable populations. And they are among the indicators most frequently used to compare socioeconomic development across countries. Limitations and exceptions: Annual data series from United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects are interpolated data from 5-year period data. Therefore they may not reflect real events as much as observed data. Statistical concept and methodology: Life expectancy at birth used here is the average number of years a newborn is expected to live if mortality patterns at the time of its birth remain constant in the future. It reflects the overall mortality level of a population, and summarizes the mortality pattern that prevails across all age groups in a given year. It is calculated in a period life table which provides a snapshot of a population's mortality pattern at a given time. It therefore does not reflect the mortality pattern that a person actually experiences during his/her life, which can be calculated in a cohort life table. High mortality in young age groups significantly lowers the life expectancy at birth. But if a person survives his/her childhood of high mortality, he/she may live much longer. For example, in a population with a life expectancy at birth of 50, there may be few people dying at age 50. The life expectancy at birth may be low due to the high childhood mortality so that once a person survives his/her childhood, he/she may live much longer than 50 years.
Publisher
The World Bank
Origin
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Records
63
Source
Afghanistan | Life expectancy at birth, total (years)
1960 32.535
1961 33.068
1962 33.547
1963 34.016
1964 34.494
1965 34.953
1966 35.453
1967 35.924
1968 36.418
1969 36.91
1970 37.418
1971 37.923
1972 38.444
1973 39.003
1974 39.55
1975 40.1
1976 40.645
1977 41.228
1978 40.271
1979 39.086
1980 39.618
1981 40.164
1982 37.766
1983 38.187
1984 33.329
1985 33.55
1986 39.396
1987 39.844
1988 43.958
1989 45.158
1990 45.967
1991 46.663
1992 47.596
1993 51.466
1994 51.495
1995 52.544
1996 53.243
1997 53.634
1998 52.943
1999 54.846
2000 55.298
2001 55.798
2002 56.454
2003 57.344
2004 57.944
2005 58.361
2006 58.684
2007 59.111
2008 59.852
2009 60.364
2010 60.851
2011 61.419
2012 61.923
2013 62.417
2014 62.545
2015 62.659
2016 63.136
2017 63.016
2018 63.081
2019 63.565
2020 62.575
2021 61.982
2022

Afghanistan | Life expectancy at birth, total (years)

Life expectancy at birth indicates the number of years a newborn infant would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the same throughout its life. Development relevance: Mortality rates for different age groups (infants, children, and adults) and overall mortality indicators (life expectancy at birth or survival to a given age) are important indicators of health status in a country. Because data on the incidence and prevalence of diseases are frequently unavailable, mortality rates are often used to identify vulnerable populations. And they are among the indicators most frequently used to compare socioeconomic development across countries. Limitations and exceptions: Annual data series from United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects are interpolated data from 5-year period data. Therefore they may not reflect real events as much as observed data. Statistical concept and methodology: Life expectancy at birth used here is the average number of years a newborn is expected to live if mortality patterns at the time of its birth remain constant in the future. It reflects the overall mortality level of a population, and summarizes the mortality pattern that prevails across all age groups in a given year. It is calculated in a period life table which provides a snapshot of a population's mortality pattern at a given time. It therefore does not reflect the mortality pattern that a person actually experiences during his/her life, which can be calculated in a cohort life table. High mortality in young age groups significantly lowers the life expectancy at birth. But if a person survives his/her childhood of high mortality, he/she may live much longer. For example, in a population with a life expectancy at birth of 50, there may be few people dying at age 50. The life expectancy at birth may be low due to the high childhood mortality so that once a person survives his/her childhood, he/she may live much longer than 50 years.
Publisher
The World Bank
Origin
Islamic Republic of Afghanistan
Records
63
Source