The average life expectancy of the world’s three billion inhabitants in 1961 was 53 years. That was against a backdrop of global GDP per capita of around US$500, and then 60 years later, in 2021, the global GDP per capita among the nearly eight billion people rose to US$12,236, with average life expectancy rising to 71 years of age. We are now living longer lives compared to our previous generations, yet World Bank data shows that life expectancy will be shortened by around two years in 2021 compared with 2020.
The findings corroborate recent data by the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention that the expected lifespan of an individual born in the US now hovers around 76.4 years, the shortest in nearly 20 years. Although Covid-19, drug overdoses and accidental injury accounted for nearly two-thirds of this decline in the US, other contributing factors included poverty, food insecurity and compromised access to healthcare services.
