South Africa | 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
Republic of South Africa
Records
63
Source
South Africa | Life expectancy at birth, female (years)
1960 54.751
1961 55.254
1962 55.595
1963 55.905
1964 56.217
1965 56.555
1966 56.864
1967 57.22
1968 57.506
1969 57.888
1970 58.317
1971 58.767
1972 59.175
1973 59.669
1974 60.163
1975 60.652
1976 61.21
1977 61.794
1978 62.366
1979 62.814
1980 63.224
1981 63.832
1982 64.296
1983 64.773
1984 65.014
1985 65.405
1986 65.942
1987 65.968
1988 66.475
1989 66.356
1990 66.712
1991 66.945
1992 67.067
1993 66.832
1994 66.189
1995 65.749
1996 64.721
1997 63.828
1998 62.883
1999 62.008
2000 61.049
2001 59.47
2002 57.668
2003 56.232
2004 55.721
2005 55.431
2006 55.892
2007 56.852
2008 58.111
2009 59.722
2010 61.266
2011 63.111
2012 64.449
2013 65.267
2014 66.259
2015 66.781
2016 67.794
2017 68.43
2018 68.74
2019 69.107
2020 67.964
2021 64.999
2022
South Africa | 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
Republic of South Africa
Records
63
Source