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