On October 2nd local time, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a report stating that the global average life expectancy has reached 73.3 years, which is close to the level before the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019.
It is reported that the latest ‘Global Health Estimates’ released by WHO on that day depicts changes in health conditions across countries and regions from 2000 to 2023, including trends in life expectancy, causes of death, and disease burdens.
WHO stated: "After the impact caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, global life expectancy has risen to levels close to those before the pandemic. At the same time, non-communicable diseases (NCDs) are becoming increasingly prevalent among causes of death."
According to WHO, in 2023, the global life expectancy reached 73.3 years, close to the 73.4 years recorded in 2019. However, the recovery of healthy life expectancy was slow; it reached 62.8 years in 2023, which is still 0.4 years below the level in 2019.
Meanwhile, according to the WHO, “the long-term trend towards a non-communicable disease-led society continues.” In 2023, non-communicable diseases accounted for 74% of global deaths, compared to only 58% in 2000.
Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death. In 2023, ischemic heart disease caused the death of approximately 9.5 million people. Additionally, it resulted in a total of “210 million disability-adjusted life years” (DALYs), a measure of the years of healthy life lost due to illness.
