Cameroon | 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
Republic of Cameroon
Records
63
Source
Cameroon | Life expectancy at birth, total (years)
1960 34.819
1961 35.406
1962 42.516
1963 42.918
1964 43.31
1965 43.889
1966 44.436
1967 45.176
1968 45.978
1969 46.821
1970 47.583
1971 48.251
1972 48.9
1973 49.324
1974 49.571
1975 49.718
1976 49.88
1977 49.995
1978 50.28
1979 50.575
1980 51.041
1981 51.517
1982 52.085
1983 52.762
1984 53.22
1985 53.899
1986 54.037
1987 54.724
1988 54.934
1989 54.947
1990 54.868
1991 54.658
1992 54.481
1993 54.062
1994 53.528
1995 53.222
1996 52.82
1997 52.737
1998 52.582
1999 52.695
2000 52.932
2001 53.142
2002 53.415
2003 53.883
2004 54.178
2005 54.362
2006 54.856
2007 55.165
2008 55.655
2009 56.102
2010 56.582
2011 57.133
2012 57.792
2013 58.476
2014 58.935
2015 59.658
2016 60.233
2017 60.81
2018 61.18
2019 61.584
2020 60.833
2021 60.333
2022

Cameroon | 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
Republic of Cameroon
Records
63
Source