Africa Eastern and Southern | 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
Africa Eastern and Southern
Records
63
Source
Africa Eastern and Southern | Life expectancy at birth, total (years)
1960 44.08555185
1961 44.38669693
1962 44.75218187
1963 44.9131593
1964 45.47904304
1965 45.49833779
1966 45.24910463
1967 45.924905
1968 46.22309657
1969 46.43230309
1970 46.71848452
1971 47.19294226
1972 46.89738925
1973 47.69231743
1974 47.59806375
1975 47.75988691
1976 48.34958805
1977 48.63590519
1978 48.7636046
1979 49.26133574
1980 49.63653766
1981 50.05707329
1982 50.29684914
1983 48.70333059
1984 48.65266456
1985 49.01163072
1986 49.63971901
1987 50.07588754
1988 49.35972653
1989 50.68409979
1990 50.60772753
1991 50.39045961
1992 49.96211365
1993 50.27362797
1994 50.88258182
1995 51.00192529
1996 50.81068897
1997 50.97423136
1998 50.32591274
1999 51.23785191
2000 51.96448132
2001 52.18964821
2002 52.540794
2003 53.02203459
2004 53.54545711
2005 54.21965081
2006 55.15054611
2007 55.93380171
2008 56.6804189
2009 57.62085154
2010 58.41114975
2011 59.29327139
2012 60.05078025
2013 60.70986956
2014 61.33791748
2015 61.85645814
2016 62.4440502
2017 62.92238962
2018 63.36586261
2019 63.75567792
2020 63.31386033
2021 62.45458965
2022

Africa Eastern and Southern | 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
Africa Eastern and Southern
Records
63
Source