According to the Population Reference Bureau’s 2000 World Data Sheets, life expectancy at birth for Indians is between 60 and 61 years
Most people from developed countries, even most Asians on an average longer than most Indians.
| Region | Life Expectancy at Birth | Population > 65 years |
| World | 66 years | 7% |
| India | 60 – 61 years | 4% |
| Japan | 77 – 84 years | 17% |
Some interesting facts on life expectancy:
- Gender Differences – Women tend to have a longer life expectancy. The reasons given by experts vary from women being biologically stronger to women exposing themselves to less hazardous situations (drinking, smoking, driving, military services) amongst others.
- Historic Life Expectancy – Better medical care facilities, improvements in nutrition have meant that average life expectancy has constantly gone up. For a reference, during Roman times, life expectancy was between 22-25 years.
- Aging – It’s also interesting to note that life expectancy keeps changing in one lifetime, as one gets older. People are constantly living longer than their life expectancy at birth.
Statistics For India
| Total population | 1,240,000,000 |
|---|---|
| Gross national income per capita (PPP international $) | 3,590 |
| Life expectancy at birth m/f (years) | 64/67 |
| Probability of dying under five (per 1 000 live births) | 56 |
| Probability of dying between 15 and 60 years m/f (per 1 000 population) | 247/159 |
| Total expenditure on health per capita (Intl $, 2011) | 141 |
| Total expenditure on health as % of GDP (2011) | 3.9 |
| Figures are for 2009 unless indicated. Source: Global Health Observatory | |
Why is life expectancy low for India?
- Communicable and non-communicable Diseases: Main life threatening ones include diarrhea, pneumonia, several other viral diseases that in early childhood lower the life expectancy bar
- Food problems- The population grows geometrically while the food supply grows arthimetically. Dependence on agriculture on rains, and natural hazards, poor productivity in agriculture (due to small split farms, low investment etc.) complicate things further.
- Low Level Of Education – Kerala being the most educated state in the country is also the one with people with the highest life expectancy (73 years). Educated people tend to have stronger awareness regarding their personal health and hygiene creating a positive impact. Our old post on this.
- Availability of clean water – Lack of access often leads to millions of cases of diarrhea, cholers, typhoid and even growth of mosquitoes near dirty water areas leading to further diseases like Malaria etc.
- Indoor Air Pollution – There are still people in rural areas inhaling carbon monoxide and other harmful gases due to wood, coal or animal dung being burnt in chulas and makeshift kitchens.
- Poor levels of nutrition in children: We discussed this earlier and the statistics look bleak
There’s no doubt that India has improved like all other countries in the last few decades, but the current analysis just shows, how much we need to still catch up!
DISCLAIMER – All the above facts have been provided by trusted third party organisations marked above. MIEF does not claim any of the above data nor do we advertise it. We share this data to create stronger awareness on these themes.