Life Expectancy

life expectancy, estimate of the average number of additional years that a person of a given age can expect to live. The most common measure of life expectancy is life expectancy at birth. Life expectancy is a hypothetical measure. It assumes that the age-specific death rates for the year in question will apply throughout the lifetime of individuals born in that year. The estimate, in effect, projects the age-specific mortality (death) rates for a given period over the entire lifetime of the population born (or alive) during that time. The measure differs considerably by sex, age, race, and geographic location. Therefore, life expectancy is commonly given for specific categories, rather than for the population in general. For example, the life expectancy for white females in the United States who were born in 2003 is 80.4 years.

Life expectancy reflects local conditions. In less-developed countries, life expectancy at birth is relatively low, compared with more-developed countries. In some less-developed countries, life expectancy at birth may be lower than life expectancy at age 1, because of high infant mortality rates (commonly due to infectious disease or lack of access to a clean water supply).

Life expectancy is calculated by constructing a life table. A life table incorporates data on age-specific death rates for the population in question, which requires enumeration data for the number of people, and the number of deaths at each age for that population. Those numbers typically are derived from national census and vital statistics data, and from them the average life expectancy for each of the age groups within the population can be calculated.

The potential accuracy of estimated life expectancy depends on the completeness of the census and death data available for the population in question. The completeness of that data varies from country to country. In the United States, for example, official complete life tables based on registered deaths have been prepared since 1900, in connection with the decennial census. Since 1945, annual abridged U.S. life tables have been published based on the annual death registration and estimates of the population. Complete life tables show life expectancy for every year of age, and abridged tables show life expectancy for 5- or 10-year age groups, rather than for single-year groups. National life tables for many countries are published by the United Nations in its Demographic Yearbook.

Another life expectancy calculation is healthy life expectancy (or disability-free life expectancy), which is the average number of years a person is expected to live in good health, or without disability, given current age-specific mortality rates and disease and disability prevalence rates. Calculation of those figures requires reliable health statistics as well as mortality and census data.