In July 2015, the world’s oldest man died, after reaching 112 years of age.
He was from Japan, a nation known for it’s very long life expectancy rates.
Most countries with high life expectancy have a number of common traits.
So, which countries live the longest?
And why?
Well, a low life expectancy for a country doesn’t necessarily mean that adults there
die at a younger age.
In most places, those who make it to adulthood end up living much longer than the reported
life expectancy.
The “ life expectancy” figure is skewed to a lower number because child mortality
rates are added to the average.
For example, in 2001, Nigeria had more than 3 million people over 60 years of age.
But because of high child mortality rates, Nigeria’s average life expectancy was just
47 years old.
Although the statistic is often misinterpreted, life expectancy data is a valuable tool for
tracking the development of countries.
So what are the countries with the highest life expectancies?
Well, several international reports differ.
The World Health Organization reports that Japan ranks first, followed by a tie between
countries like Switzerland and Singapore.
The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development lists Japan, Spain, Iceland
and Switzerland as the longest-living countries.
And the Central Intelligence Agency, which includes smaller territories in the running,
lists Monaco, Macau and Japan on top.
So what contributes to a high life expectancy?
Well, experts suggest that many high-life-expectancy countries have national diets that contribute
to cardiovascular health.
The Japanese in particular, who commonly eat raw fish and vegetables, are known to have
low rates of heart disease and obesity.
There is also a well known cultural emphasis on respect and care for elders, which improves
lifespan.
Other countries invest heavily in preventative health care.
The Swiss government allocates over $9,000 dollars per person for medical expenses.
On the other end of the spectrum, the W.H.O.
notes that 9 countries in Sub Saharan Africa still have life expectancies below 55 - including
Angola, Lesotho, and Mozambique.
These places suffer from more infectious diseases than high-life-expectancy-countries.
AIDS and Malaria still pose major threats to the population.
But overall, life expectancies worldwide are increasing.
Global averages suggest that a girl born in 2012, will live 73 years.
And boys are expected to live 68 years.
These averages are six years higher than global figures from 1990.
As scientists and medical experts keep working on new ways to prolong lifespan, in the next
century, people may be regularly living past 100 years.
If you want a look at the science of why people live so long, check out this video from DNews.
There’s a link in the description if you want to see that full video!
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