Living long is one thing, but living long and healthy is another. If some Asian countries are known for their centenarians, other countries, European ones, follow them in the ranking of countries according to life expectancy. This article offers you a little special geography lesson to find out in which countries in the world people live the longest.
In 2016, it appeared that women lived on average up to 87.3 years and men up to 81.3 years:a world record. This small island with a population of 7.5 million people was nevertheless experiencing real social unrest because income inequalities were significant there. But it must be believed that these data do not influence life expectancy. What could be the explanation then? One hypothesis is that the British settlers would have developed a quality urban fabric, making urban density a real asset. One district in particular, that of Sha Tin, presents itself as a model of its kind with a food market, many small shops, a neighborhood clinic and very good public transport services. This creates a life that resembles that of a village, where the elderly do not suffer from isolation. They can leave their very small apartments every day and walk to buy food and fresh air. Urban density also means quick access to emergency medical care.
Little known, the Republic of San Marino is a European micro-state landlocked inside Italy, between Emilia-Romagna and the Marches. It is the third smallest state in Europe after the Vatican and Monaco. In August 2020, the country had 33,607 inhabitants, including 5,579 foreigners. But the Covid-19 pandemic affected San Marino from March 2020 to the point that in April 2021 it was one of the countries with the most victims in proportion to its population.
Life expectancy for men is 84.1 years and for women, 86.8 years. These figures differ from Italy, which has a lower life expectancy of 3 years for women and 7 years for men. Known to be a tax haven, the secret of the long life of its inhabitants is undoubtedly to be sought elsewhere than in the Mediterranean diet based on the use of olive oil, and the consumption of fruit, vegetables and fresh fish which is the one adopted by the whole Italian peninsula.
Life in small rich countries is favorable. Another example is Luxembourg. This country has just over 600,000 inhabitants who benefit from a solid economy and efficient health care, creating favorable conditions for a long life. In 2018, the average lifespan there was 82.2 years.
In Japan, the city of Okinawa is known worldwide for its large number of centenarians and is the subject of careful study by researchers who want to know the reason for this distinction. The Japanese diet partly explains this situation. Low in calories and based on the consumption of local fresh vegetables and fruits, it is reputed to reduce the risk of cancer of the prostate, breasts or stomach. The Japanese also consume little meat and saturated fat. But we also observe that the Japanese remain active quite late in life, which can contribute to staying in good health for a long time, depending on the occupation.
The number of Japanese living past 100 doubled during the first decade of the 20th century. Japan remains today the oldest population on the planet because they combine low mortality and low birth rate. The difference between the average life expectancy of men and that of women is significant since it is almost 7 years, women can expect to reach 85.62 years. It is expected that the average life expectancy at birth will reach 83.6 years for the period 2020-2025. The major change predicted for 2050 is that 25% of the population will be over 65 years old. This spectacular aging is notably at the origin of a particular research effort in the field of robotics dedicated to helping the elderly.
In 2018, the average lifespan in Korea was 82.2 years. According to some projections, this country of 51 million inhabitants would be the first to experience a life expectancy for women over 90 years.
An Israeli also lives 82.2 years of life on average, despite the context of the Arab-Israeli conflict since the creation of the State of Israel in 1948. This figure is regularly criticized by associations because life expectancy is lower for Arab inhabitants. They also denounce an unequal situation which does not seem legitimate to them, which goes well beyond the differences in diet adopted by the different populations. This country, which has 9 million inhabitants, offers its inhabitants a high-level health system. In addition, this country is distinguished by the lowest suicide rate in the world .
In metropolitan France, INSEE, the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies, estimated that in 2018, life expectancy there reached 79.5 years for men and 85.4 years for women. These figures are based on disputed theoretical models. That same year, two researchers working respectively in the United States and Australia discussed the methodology widely used to estimate life expectancy in different countries around the world. The new calculation method they proposed changed the rankings and put Australian men and Swiss women in the lead. The figures were revised downwards for France giving only 68.8 years for men and 77 years for women. This difference in result also lowered Japan's figures considerably.
Although the situation has improved, it should be noted here that France remains one of the biggest consumers of antibiotics, but especially of anxiolytics. In 2015, nearly 13.4% of the French population were prescribed benzodiazepines at least once in their life, to treat anxiety, severe sleep disorders and epilepsy. France was behind Spain in 2nd place for the consumption of benzodiazepines in Europe.
This brings us back to the issue of quality of life. In March 2021, a study revealed that Finland was, for the fourth consecutive time, the country where one feels the happiest in the world. Life expectancy is a little lower there than in France:83.8 years for women and 78.3 for men. But this country is characterized by low crime, few inequalities, efficient public services and high trust in the authorities.
What we can observe is that if you are not a specialist in world demography, it is very difficult to find your way around because the data available, the sources and the methods of calculation vary, and it is not always easy to see clearly, especially since the sources are not systematically explained. Life expectancy calculations are for children born in the year of the calculations. We must therefore be precise and know if we are talking about the life expectancy of people born in 1939, which differs from those born in 1945, in 1970, etc. It is easy to mix up all this data by comparing countries with each other. It is for this reason that we have decided to offer you in this article a free route within different countries, without following the order of any world ranking.
Furthermore, the projections assume that the world continues to evolve positively. It goes without saying that in the event of a large-scale conflict, many data will be revised downwards.
Be that as it may, in the current state of things, the aging of the population is a generalized phenomenon, which affects all countries of the world. With a few rare exceptions, all countries in the world are seeing the proportion of elderly people increase. It is a major social transformation of the 21st century, impacting the world of work, financial markets, and the organization of societies right down to family structures.
A study conducted by a Singapore biotech company and published in May 2021 reveals that human beings could not live beyond 150 years . This is already a lot and, if the world remains as it is today, life expectancy can still increase significantly, generating new challenges for all societies to meet.
