Africa Western and Central | Life expectancy at birth, female (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 Western and Central
Records
63
Source
Africa Western and Central | Life expectancy at birth, female (years)
1960 39.38463802
1961 39.70428388
1962 39.93535409
1963 40.28346831
1964 40.60988778
1965 40.8449384
1966 41.03609804
1967 41.00349782
1968 41.57192761
1969 41.79031334
1970 42.21369592
1971 42.67802064
1972 43.36627527
1973 43.92174339
1974 44.57037487
1975 45.31772745
1976 46.18790314
1977 46.96862278
1978 47.59242513
1979 48.00405722
1980 48.37122717
1981 48.60773305
1982 48.85878081
1983 49.11707962
1984 49.261311
1985 49.3998563
1986 49.4195454
1987 49.7337994
1988 49.95865855
1989 50.14994578
1990 50.22901109
1991 50.16276387
1992 50.25557714
1993 50.32930331
1994 50.1306698
1995 50.23282807
1996 50.34940605
1997 50.50699538
1998 50.59224594
1999 51.00462819
2000 51.38252846
2001 51.67646905
2002 52.03391606
2003 52.52457948
2004 52.89031209
2005 53.39750452
2006 53.83159449
2007 54.24670473
2008 54.53774554
2009 55.07711119
2010 55.44060717
2011 55.92535595
2012 56.2607088
2013 56.6172635
2014 56.88093468
2015 57.16432389
2016 57.448601
2017 57.842236
2018 58.11324772
2019 58.54597904
2020 58.34623979
2021 58.09982774
2022

Africa Western and Central | Life expectancy at birth, female (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 Western and Central
Records
63
Source