Africa Western and Central | Life expectancy at birth, male (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, male (years)
1960 36.44939592
1961 36.76407254
1962 37.56640245
1963 37.87866006
1964 38.10102266
1965 38.42736332
1966 38.67589918
1967 38.01484572
1968 38.6643208
1969 38.96939027
1970 39.89009419
1971 40.46609095
1972 41.16319098
1973 41.81557782
1974 42.45151085
1975 43.11312362
1976 43.85160116
1977 44.50695004
1978 44.98817383
1979 45.38656109
1980 45.70329054
1981 46.03038898
1982 46.24279308
1983 46.49848094
1984 46.6451126
1985 46.68808471
1986 46.7574998
1987 46.80572348
1988 47.11553568
1989 47.27973344
1990 47.15205612
1991 47.21755798
1992 47.27652606
1993 47.39136493
1994 47.28438288
1995 47.38697297
1996 47.51506215
1997 47.70111057
1998 48.10186388
1999 48.52414858
2000 49.0777125
2001 49.46567699
2002 49.83329979
2003 50.29497067
2004 50.75700672
2005 51.29653215
2006 51.83463424
2007 52.2577825
2008 52.74195474
2009 53.24110075
2010 53.65788418
2011 54.10131434
2012 54.42209012
2013 54.73281544
2014 54.96767418
2015 55.23350695
2016 55.71710556
2017 55.94266378
2018 56.27181247
2019 56.57739212
2020 56.13102263
2021 55.90341913
2022
Africa Western and Central | Life expectancy at birth, male (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