South Africa | 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
Republic of South Africa
Records
63
Source
South Africa | Life expectancy at birth, male (years)
1960 50.877
1961 51.206
1962 51.45
1963 51.656
1964 51.889
1965 52.123
1966 52.223
1967 52.35
1968 52.557
1969 52.811
1970 53.146
1971 53.449
1972 53.701
1973 54.119
1974 54.443
1975 54.77
1976 55.215
1977 55.623
1978 56.055
1979 56.457
1980 56.891
1981 57.413
1982 58.006
1983 58.516
1984 59.023
1985 59.451
1986 59.796
1987 60.011
1988 60.115
1989 60.143
1990 59.93
1991 59.506
1992 59.534
1993 59.103
1994 58.777
1995 58.441
1996 57.762
1997 57.276
1998 56.624
1999 55.991
2000 55.397
2001 54.565
2002 53.191
2003 51.97
2004 51.891
2005 52.064
2006 52.209
2007 52.691
2008 53.488
2009 54.728
2010 56.067
2011 57.731
2012 58.775
2013 59.352
2014 60.062
2015 60.709
2016 61.307
2017 61.954
2018 62.203
2019 62.834
2020 62.178
2021 59.458
2022
South Africa | 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
Republic of South Africa
Records
63
Source