Live long and prosper

Economist: Live long and prosper

Japanese women and men expect to live the longest

ON AVERAGE, additional life expectancy at the age of 65 in the rich countries of the OECD stands at over 20 years for women and close to 17 years for men, an increase of almost five years for women and four years for men since 1970. This is largely because of better health-care systems and healthier lifestyles. The country with the longest life expectancy is Japan, where women and men can expect to go on for another 23.6 and 18.6 years respectively. But later years may come with a diminished quality of life. In some countries, notably in Japan and Sweden where people live the longest, severe limitations in the usual activities of daily life have increased too.

Comments

[phil_style]

Have these figures excluded infant mortality?

[Michael W. Kruse]

I understand this to be the life expectancy of people at their 65th birthday. So yes, I think IM is not a factor. People who live to 65 in OECD can on average expect to live to be 85.