Highest life expectancy in Japan

Highest life expectancy in Japan and San Marino

15/05/2011

The average life expectancy of a newborn child with a constant current structure of the mortality rate in Germany is 79.9 years of life. On average women have a longer life expectancy than men and live about five years longer. This comes from a recent evaluation by the World Health Organization WHO in Geneva.

People in Japan and San Marino with high life expectancy
In the evaluation, the relative life expectancy of all people worldwide was raised. The oldest people are therefore in Japan and in San Marino. Life expectancy in both countries averages 83 years of life. Early, people are dying in extremely poor developing countries. According to WHO data, the lowest life expectancy is in the African Malawi. There, people are barely 47 years old.

The average life expectancy in Germany is almost 80 years (79.9). On average, women are 5 years older than men. The life expectancy of men is 78 and of women 83 years. Thus, Germany is in the lead despite the good medical care in the European comparison. In countries such as France, Holland and Norway, people are 81 years old, according to WHO calculations.

Most people are no older than 50 worldwide
People in many countries of the world do not reach their 50th birthday. Below-average life expectancy exists in Afghanistan, Chad, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe. In poor countries, there is a high rate of infant mortality and below-average to catastrophic health care. In Caribbean countries like Cuba, life expectancy is comparable to that of Germany, despite poverty. In Cuba people are on average 78.9 years old.

Healthy diet makes people get older
According to the WHO health experts, the high life expectancy in Japan is decisively linked to a healthy diet. Japanese usually eat a lot of fish and vegetables. Women in Japan are on average 86 years old, while men are 80. The surveys also include natural disasters. The earthquake disaster in March 2011 is not yet recorded in the statistics.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death
According to the Federal Statistical Office, most people in Germany died from cardiovascular diseases such as stroke or heart attack. In 91 percent of deaths, people were over 65 years old. In rank were two cancers with more than 216,000 deaths in 2009. Men were most likely to have colon, liver and lung cancers. In addition to cancer of the digestive organs, women often died of breast cancer. According to statistics, a total of 854,544 people died in 2009, including 404,969 men and 449,575 women. Most were older than 65. (sb)

Read about:
The most common causes of death in Germany
Every fourth death from cancer
Blood poisoning: third most frequent cause of death
Fat fish prevents diabetes and heart disease

Picture: Rainer Sturm