China Vs. the US: Lifespan Gains
A child born in China today can expect to live decades longer than someone born in China in 1950.
April 13, 2018
1. Life expectancy at birth in the United States in 2015 was 79.24 years, according to the UN Population Division. In China, it was 76.09 years.
2. Thus, U.S. lifespan projections currently remain about 4% longer than Chinese lifespan projections for babies born the same year.
3. Impressively for China, that is a much smaller life expectancy gap than 65 years earlier.
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China Vs. the US: Lifespan Gains
4. Back in 1950, the same life expectancy for a baby born in China was just 42.97 years.
5. The corresponding number in the United States was 68.21 years – 25% greater.
6. Americans as a national population gained more than 10 years in life expectancy between 1950 and 2015.
7. During the same span, the Chinese population gained about 33 years in projected lifespan at birth.
8. The world average for life expectancy at birth in 2015 was 71.43 years, which remains below China’s level, as it has been since 1968.
Sources: The Globalist Research Center, UN Population Division