Congo, Dem. Rep. | 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
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Records
63
Source
Congo, Dem. Rep. | Life expectancy at birth, total (years)
1960 40.857
1961 40.239
1962 40.342
1963 40.604
1964 40.052
1965 40.704
1966 42.053
1967 42.31
1968 42.705
1969 42.976
1970 43.284
1971 43.656
1972 43.933
1973 44.096
1974 44.41
1975 44.471
1976 44.656
1977 44.763
1978 44.537
1979 45.207
1980 45.473
1981 45.72
1982 45.92
1983 46.181
1984 46.445
1985 46.624
1986 46.914
1987 47.336
1988 47.768
1989 48.17
1990 48.601
1991 48.948
1992 49.244
1993 49.551
1994 49.884
1995 50.411
1996 49.307
1997 50.402
1998 49.696
1999 49.945
2000 51.781
2001 52.116
2002 52.333
2003 52.827
2004 53.426
2005 53.927
2006 54.534
2007 54.923
2008 55.339
2009 55.836
2010 56.417
2011 57.069
2012 57.248
2013 57.762
2014 58.296
2015 58.49
2016 59.066
2017 59.411
2018 59.942
2019 60.276
2020 59.739
2021 59.193
2022

Congo, Dem. Rep. | 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
Democratic Republic of the Congo
Records
63
Source