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Top 20 countries for life expectancy
"Old people" - we all hope to live long enough to earn this distinction. In some countries, the probability of living well into your eighties is much better than in others. The worldwide average for life expectancy is just a smidge over 67, with the highest and lowest countries fluctuating by over 20 years in each direction. 39 of the bottom 40 countries are located on the African continent, and 3 of the top 5 are European micro-states. The United States ranks in at number 50, boasting a life expectancy of 78 years old.
At the bottom of the list is Angola, a country in southwestern Africa with a machete on its flag. The average life expectancy in Angola is almost 39 years old. At the other end of the spectrum is Monaco (pictured above). Monaco is a micro-state in Europe with an extremely high standard of living. The average person there lives to be 89 years old. The 50 year gap between these two countries represents the difference between yacht ownership and subsistence farming, and every other country falls somewhere in between. For the full list, check out the world fact book at cia.gov.
20. Bermuda - 80.7119. Anguilla - 80.87 (at right)
18. Iceland - 80.90
17. Israel - 80.96
16. Switzerland - 81.07
15. Sweden - 81.07
14. Spain - 81.17
13. France - 81.19
12. Jersey - 81.38
11. Canada - 81.38
10. Italy - 81.77
9. Australia - 81.81
8. Hong Kong - 82.04
7. Singapore - 82.14
6. Guernsey - 82.16
5. Japan - 82.25
4. Andorra - 82.43
3. San Marino - 83.01
2. Macau - 84.41
1. Monaco - 89.73 (at top)
flickr images via needoptic and adomass
8. Hong Kong - 82.04
7. Singapore - 82.14
6. Guernsey - 82.16
5. Japan - 82.25
4. Andorra - 82.43
3. San Marino - 83.01
2. Macau - 84.41
1. Monaco - 89.73 (at top)
flickr images via needoptic and adomass
Filed under: Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, Angola, China, Israel, Japan, Singapore, Andorra, France, Iceland, Italy, Monaco, San Marino, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, United States, Australia, News, Caribbean, Hong Kong
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 4)
Chishikoff Mar 21st 2011 3:51PM
This is soo cool !! I really enjoyed reading this. Thanks so much for your photos!
Awesomesauce Mar 21st 2011 8:47PM
NICE DEAL!!!!!!!!!!!! Chuck Norris Rules!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
jsccats257 Mar 22nd 2011 10:44AM
Those causes may not be included in the countries "death statistics" depending on how they view death rate; unnatural causes aren't always included by some countries since they represent a classes of deaths that are external to the heath care system.
Mary Mar 21st 2011 9:24PM
Those life expectancies are only valid if you don't die from a tsunami in Japan, get blown up by a Palestinian bomb in Israel, get stabbed in the heart by a stingray in Australian waters, or engage in bullfighting in Spain.
Del Mar 22nd 2011 12:52AM
Baloney! Statistics take into account those abnormal situations.
tradervic Mar 22nd 2011 5:51AM
They're valid with those risks, they're averages.
rAY Mar 21st 2011 9:32PM
Any idea where these stats came from?
Sharon Mar 22nd 2011 5:53AM
I'm an RN with decades of experience and am suspicious that they're the 2001 stats from World Health Org (WHO), which hasn't put out any longevity stats since then. They are meant to sway the thinking that Europeans live longer, thus promote socialized medicine.
They fail to factor in that they do much less diagnostic testing and post-mortem autopsies, and therefore, inaccurately diagnose a lot of deaths as "old age" instead of coronary heart disease, diabetes, CVA (stroke), cancer, and even things like Tetrology of Fallot or spina bifida in babies. So their figures for cause of death are inaccurate.
If we didn't have the best health care in the world, all the world's richest people and world leaders wouldn't still be coming to the United States for not only their surgeries but now, for their routine physical exams.
tradervic Mar 22nd 2011 7:30AM
Stats very depending on organization and country that does it but over the last five years, the US never rates higher than 25th.As long as the insurance lobby remains one of the biggest corporate sponsors for the Republicans, their will never be a decent healthcare system in the US. One of the reasons health care is so expensive here is because this out dated system requires six accountants for every doctor. We can't compete with socialized medicine anymore than our education system can compete with socialized education and for the same reason, lack of access for the working class and much of the middle class.
vincent Mar 21st 2011 9:49PM
that IS amazing when you consider the percentage of gdp that is medical. pretty poor value for the money. of course, doctors create their own demand in a fee for service system and they are doing quite well.
Harley Mar 21st 2011 11:04PM
There's nothing amazing about the fees doctors charge. Most doctors are being charged upwards of $200K per year in malpractice insurance. They're not getting the money, the insurance industry is. The same people who continue to raise your premiums as well.
is it any wonder that the countries with better healthcare, longer life, and lower infant mortality rates are the countries who have a govt healthcare system?
we don't have free market healthcare in the US, we have Corporate Socialist Healthcare.
matt Mar 22nd 2011 1:03AM
Healthcare in the US is shameful, thanks to the insurance companies and lawyers who have totally taken over.... and the above life expectancy chart proves it. Hillary Clinton had the answers, but no one listened or allowed The President to try without restrictions.
Minnesota Mar 21st 2011 9:55PM
Anybody guess the common thread?
Bazzinga, Government health care strikes again. You live longer and you have more cash to do it with.
Those darn socialists, they not only do it cheaper, they have better outcomes.
wordkyle Mar 21st 2011 10:55PM
Take out early deaths from motor vehicle accidents, and early deaths due to homicide, compare the stats, and you have the beginning of a decent debate about the "benefits" of socialized medicine.
nasknit Mar 22nd 2011 12:24AM
I'm a RN. I've been following the socialized medicine "issue", for going on 40 years. I, for one, do not need a system where the waiting list to get a joint replacement is 3 years (Canada- mother mortgaged her house to get "torn up" knee surgery for her 16 yr old daughter- research it!). As a matter of fact, the Canadian Supreme court found parts of the socialized medicine laws "unconstitutional", 4-5 years ago. They said the right to health care does NOT mean the right to be on a 3 yr waiting list. Doctors are in such short supply in parts of Canada, they hold LOTTERIES for MD appts. 20 years ago, over half the MRI's & CAT scans in Buffalo, NY were performed on "cash paying" Canadians- For some REALLY strange reason, people did not want to wait 6 months to have these tests done in Canada, to find out if the CANCER had spread, or if they had something NASTY like cancer to begin with. Speaking of cancer, how about that wait period for bladder cancer treatment: 1'st you wait to see family MD, then wait to see specialist, then wait to get tests done, see specialist again to find out results, and then, when they have diagnosed YOU with bladder cancer, you get to wait 12 weeks before treatment- Guess what? Their mortality rate increased by 20%, when the wait increased from 8 wks, to 12 wks. Oh, And I just love the wait period, to have implantable defibrillator surgery done-> that's an 8 week wait, at home, on your own. You might DIE, but that shortens the list for the rest of the people waiting. Oh, check out the story of the 60-something woman, from Churchill, Canada who had a broken hip. Her husband spent $24,000 for air medical transport to a Canadian hospital. She lay on a gurney, in the ER for 3 days+. After her husband talked with a newspaperman, & her plight was "aired", they finally were able to take her to surgery for a hip repair..... NHS in UK is "peachy keen"- They told a 61 yr old woman (still working!), that she was too OLD for a 5,000 pound (USA about $7,000) out-patient heart surgery, that could save her life. After a whole bunch of news coverage, they changed their "minds". Speaking of hearts & heart disease, forget getting admitted to a Coronary Care Unit, in the UK, if you're "too old"- AGE limit depends on how crowded they are, and how old or young YOUR competition for the CCU bed is at that particular time. BUT, you can rule out CCU if you're over 60, for sure; frequently, if you're over 50! My "favorite" info (from PBS) is the finite number of dialysis "slots" that are available. Whatever NHS has set as their "top number", once it is reached, for someone NEW to go on dialysis, someone else has to come off, which means they DIE! And, when you have a genius like Stephen Hawking, He's not taken care of by NHS- Universities & companies "bid" to cover his medical costs, so they can have access to his genius. I guess if you're not a genius, you're out of luck. ....That Italy is in the top 20 is amazing to me. My husband & I visited for 3-4 days, June 2008, Venice region. The air quality SUCKED- it made LA air look good, & I've never been a fan of LA. We both came back to the "states", with bronchitis. Expensive accommodations, expensive food, expensive drinks ( there is no such thing as "ice water w/lemon"; mixed drinks cost: USA number, like 5.95 +1, but in euros. When we bought our euros, the exchange rate was 1 euro= $1.68.) ... What is noticeable in about half the countries listed, is that a good portion of their income is from tourist money. Tourism brings in money, & you don't have to provide education, welfare, or medical care (usually), to the "visitors". Maybe we should market "Visit the USA".
Del Mar 22nd 2011 1:02AM
WORDKYLE: Your comment is full of baloney and bad ideology. Statistics take into account all of the abnormal situations.
DEL Mar 22nd 2011 1:45AM
NASKNIT: It's easy to find all sorts of alleged (and actual) situations that you cite. However, they have nothing to do with a nation's overall life expectancy. The statistics take into consideration all situations.
Also, you seem to be willing to ignore all the "abnormal" situations in the U.S. -- easy access to low-cost preventive care, people without insurance, people without money to pay for health care, etc. Why is Canada #11 and U.S. #50?
You might have a point about countries with a lot of tourism, but how many of the top 20 have tourism as a significant part of their economy? One-fourth of them? Bermuda, Anguilla, Switzerland, Monaco; maybe Macau (gambling). Any others that can say tourism is a significant part of their economy?
Del Mar 22nd 2011 1:50AM
Correction to my comment re Nasknit's comments: with retard to "abnormal" situations in the U.S., I mean to say "lack of access to low-cost preventive care".
Bob Mar 21st 2011 9:57PM
And we've got the best heath care system in the world. Bull. Ours is the most expensive and one of the worst in the civilized world. The only thing we have is a lot of propaganda from the Republicans because they are in bed with the Health Insurance companies. Those lobbyists will pay anything for them to keep our present system in place. The United States is the last bastion for the Medical Insurance Companies. If we had universal Health care they would be out of business and we'd be saving Billions of dollars.
christie Mar 21st 2011 10:53PM
all nationalized healthcare leads to is either lower quality for care for more people or sky high taxes or both. now, I am willing to admit that perhaps if Americans wanted to give up ALL the other entitlements and we stopped this nonsense of financially supporting the rest of the world THEN maybe nationalized healthcare might be feasible and not require lower quality for all. You anti-republicans sure don't understand that someone has to pay for this stuff, and you're probably the first to plead to the govt that you can't afford to contribute to it. Democrats don't support nationalized healthcare to help more people, they do it to make more people their slaves and to have unsustainable leverage over any one that may utter the words devastating deficit. in nations with such programs, a woman will often wait months for an MRI (per testimonies of english and canadian women). if I had to wait months for an MRI last year, I'd be dead today!!