- India's life expectancy reached 71 years in 2023, surpassing Pakistan.
- Healthy life expectancy in India increased marginally to 60.6 years.
- Non-communicable diseases now cause 75% of India's top deaths.
Indians are likely to live longer than Pakistanis but a few years less than people in Bangladesh, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said in its latest findings. The 2023 report revealed that India’s life expectancy at birth was 71 years, whereas that of Pakistan was recorded as 68.2.
In the neighbouring country, Bangladesh, the average life expectancy was recorded at 72.2 years. For the US, the age stood at 78.5, and for Canadians, it was recorded at 81.4. It is significant to note that greater life expectancy does not necessarily mean living in good health. India’s healthy life expectancy was recorded to be only 60.6 years in 2023, only slightly higher than the 2019 level of 60.5 years. These data were covered in a report published by WHO on Friday. The record covered life expectancy, healthy life expectancy, causes of death and burden from 2000 to 2003.
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Did Life Expectancy Rise in India?
The WHO report said that India has regained its life expectancy in the post-pandemic years. In 2021, the life expectancy was recorded at 68.5 years, which rose to 70.5 in 2022 and stood at 71 years in 2023. India has regained 2.9 years of life expectancy in two years.
The healthy life expectancy was recorded at 58.4 in 2021, which rose to 60.6 in 2023. The report stated that India’s life expectancy increased by only 2.2 years.
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The life expectancy of old-age people has also risen over the years. A 60-year-old in 2019 could expect to live for another 18.4 years, which increased to 18.8 years in 2023. Within this, 13.7 was likely to be lived in full health, which was only 13.4 in 2019.
Changes observed in communicable and non-communicable diseases
The statistics around diseases have also changed drastically. Communicable diseases, such as tuberculosis and diarrhoea, can now spread from person to person. Non-communicable diseases like heart diseases and strokes are long-term conditions.
In 2000, deaths caused by communicable diseases were recorded at 62 per cent of the combined death rate of the top 10 leading causes; non-communicable diseases accounted for only 34 per cent. The situation changed in 2023, with NCDs accounting for 75 per cent, whereas communicable diseases accounted for just 16 per cent of the combined death rate of the top 10 causes in India.
In 2000, tuberculosis and diarrhoea were the leading causes of death in the country. According to 2023 data, ischaemic heart disease, COPD (compulsory lung disease), stroke, and diabetes became the leading causes.
Despite this, TB, diarrhoea and respiratory infections still remain in the list of top ten causes of death in the country.
There has also been a significant increase in the incidence of non-communicable diseases (NCDs) worldwide. In 2023, NCDs had account for 74 per cent of all global deaths, up from 58 per cent in 2000.