IDA only | 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
IDA only
Records
63
Source
IDA only | Life expectancy at birth, total (years)
1960 42.72018005
1961 43.19234212
1962 43.68861902
1963 43.84350396
1964 44.53206637
1965 44.55453838
1966 44.94043777
1967 45.51542387
1968 45.88140129
1969 46.13792809
1970 45.04877435
1971 42.29082606
1972 46.69392041
1973 47.25448096
1974 47.26116413
1975 47.30513869
1976 47.91322674
1977 48.58006624
1978 48.94801979
1979 49.40935354
1980 49.90534034
1981 50.19708349
1982 50.41161285
1983 49.93978617
1984 50.04313386
1985 50.39337723
1986 51.0191081
1987 51.58494133
1988 51.46371331
1989 52.34749364
1990 52.65054914
1991 52.37152993
1992 52.94507053
1993 53.41005724
1994 53.99568704
1995 54.40809005
1996 54.54027264
1997 55.17686866
1998 55.41005453
1999 56.60640648
2000 57.06333768
2001 57.51218718
2002 57.9471816
2003 58.45082006
2004 58.77087882
2005 59.38510537
2006 59.94084481
2007 60.34575584
2008 60.47532038
2009 61.32735745
2010 61.82728355
2011 62.47195236
2012 62.84851462
2013 63.19409576
2014 63.57751275
2015 63.95788921
2016 64.47164293
2017 64.87272865
2018 65.27719306
2019 65.6417934
2020 65.10590483
2021 64.74778514
2022

IDA only | 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
IDA only
Records
63
Source