'The key to a long life - don't be born in Iraq,' WHO statistics reveals

Published on Friday 13 May 2011 15:46

Average life expectancies are increasing steadily in most of the world, but men in Iraq and women in South Africa are bucking the trend.

The World Health Organisation yesterday said average life expectancy in Iraq fell to 66 years in 2009 from 68 in 2000, when Saddam Hussein was still in power.

But while Iraqi girls born in 2009 could still expect to live to 70, boys' life expectancy dropped to 62, from 65 in 2000.

"The figures reflect the chaos from the conflict and the impact on health systems," said Colin Mathers, a co-ordinator of WHO's annual health statistics.

In South Africa, life expectancy for women fell to 55 from 59 in 2000 and 68 in 1990 - a reflection of the high HIV rate. Men's life expectancy in 2009 remained stable at 54 years compared with nine years earlier, but was down from 59 in 1990.

Chad, the Dominican Republic and Jamaica were the only other countries where average life expectancy dropped between 2009 and 2000.

Figures on life expectancy are the clearest single indicator of health around the world. And globally, they are increasing.

A girl born today can expect to live for 71 years - up from 68 at the start of the century. Men lag behind, with a global average life expectancy of 66, up from 64. The combined figure showed a two-year rise since 2000, to 68.

Among both sexes there are still wide variations. Girls born in the Central African Republic and Chad today are likely to live for just 48 years - the consequence of poverty, limited medical care and high maternal mortality rates. Male life expectancy is lowest in Malawi, at 44 years.

On the other end of the scale is Japan, where women can expect to live for 86 years. Men live longest in San Marino.