[LINK] On life expectancies in Canada and around the world

[rfmcdonald]

First, here's the CBC on the Canadian situation.

Newborn Canadians may live to celebrate nearly 81 birthdays on average, a Statistics Canada report on life expectancy suggests.

Tuesday's report on births and deaths showed life expectancy at birth reached 80.7 years for the three-year-period between 2005 and 2007, up from an average of 80.5 between 2004 and 2006. In 1995 to 1997, life expectancy at birth was 78.4.

Life expectancy at the opposite end of the age spectrum also showed an upward trend over 10 years.

On average, a 65-year-old man could expect to live another 18.1 years in 2005 to 2007, an increase of two years from the previous decade. A 65-year-old woman could expect to live an additional 21.3 years, up by 1.3 years.

Gains in life expectancy in seniors over the past decade accounted for about 70 per cent of the increase in life expectancy at birth, Statistics Canada said.

In 2005 to 2007, people in British Columbia showed the longest life expectancy at birth in Canada at 81.2, followed by Ontario at 81 years. The lowest life expectancy was in the three territories combined at 75.8 years.

The growing and aging population was also reflected in the number of deaths in the country. In 2007, 235,217 people died in Canada, up 7,138 or 3.1 per cent from 2006.

Next comes the World Health Organization on the situation worldwide.

A Japanese girl born today could likely reach 86 years of age, the longest life expectancy anywhere in the world, while a Canadian girl could expect to see 83 candles on her last birthday cake, the World Health Organization said in a report Thursday.

A Canadian male will likely live until 78, while men in the tiny European country of San Marino, can expect to live to 81, the UN health agency said in its annual report, World Health Statistics 2009.

In contrast, boys born in Sierra Leone face the shortest life expectancy, at just 39 years. In Afghanistan, men and women live on average to 41 and 42 years respectively.

The report uses figures from 2007, the most recent that were available for the WHO's 193 member states.

Some countries have made progress in increasing life expectancy since 1990, partly by ending wars, and partly through strengthening health systems.

Eritrea increased its average life expectancy for men by 33 years, to 61, and by 12 years for women, to 65. In Liberia, men can now expect to live to 54 on average, up from 29, and the figure rose 13 years for women to 58.

Angola, Bangladesh, Maldives, Niger and East Timor also increased the average life expectancy for men and women by 10 years.

But life expectancy declined sharply in Zimbabwe, by 19 years for women to 44, and to 45 on average for men, compared with 57 in 1990. Life expectancy also fell in Swaziland to 49 for women, down 14 years, and for men, a decline of 12 years to 47.