Life expectancy almost back to pre-Covid levels, says WHO
"Living longer is one of the great achievements of public health," said Alain Labrique, head of the WHO's data department.
In 2023, global life expectancy nearly returned to pre-Covid levels, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The organization reported that life expectancy had reached 73.3 years in 2023, closely mirroring the 73.4 years observed in 2019 prior to the pandemic. This comes after a dramatic decline to 71.5 years in 2021 due to the coronavirus crisis.
While life expectancy is inching back towards pre-pandemic levels, the WHO emphasized that the recovery in healthy life expectancy has lagged behind. In 2023, healthy life expectancy stood at 62.8 years, which is 0.4 years below the 2019 figure. Additionally, the WHO highlighted the rising challenges of dementia and mental health issues, which have seen significant increases since the start of the pandemic.
In 2023, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) were responsible for 74% of global deaths, a stark rise from just 58% in 2000 when the WHO began its annual Global Health Estimates (GHE) report. The top cause of death worldwide was ischaemic heart disease, which claimed 9.5 million lives in 2023, marking the largest increase in deaths between 2000 and 2023. Stroke and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease followed, accounting for approximately 17% and 6% of total deaths, respectively.
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