Life expectancy almost back to pre-Covid levels, says WHO

Global life expectancy has almost returned to pre-Covid levels, but years lived in good health are recovering more slowly, the World Health Organization said on Friday.

The UN agency released the figures in its annual Global Health Estimates report, which covers 2023.

How close is global life expectancy to pre-Covid levels?

Global life expectancy reached 73.3 years in 2023, just 0.1 year below the 73.4 years recorded in 2019. It had fallen to 71.5 years in 2021 because of the coronavirus crisis. Healthy life expectancy stands at 62.8 years, still 0.4 years below its 2019 level.

"Living longer is one of the great achievements of public health," said Alain Labrique, head of the WHO's data department. "The next challenge is to ensure that those additional years are lived in good health, while health systems adapt to respond to the changing needs of populations."

Has healthy life expectancy recovered since Covid?

Healthy life expectancy has recovered more slowly than overall life expectancy. At 62.8 years in 2023, it remains 0.4 years below the 2019 level.

Other measures have worsened since the pandemic. Dementia deaths have tripled, and anxiety- and depression-related health loss has risen sharply. Between 2000 and 2023, the WHO Americas region recorded the largest increases in risk of mortality and healthy life loss, while the Western Pacific saw substantial declines.

What are the biggest causes of death worldwide?

Of the 61 million deaths worldwide in 2023, the 10 leading causes accounted for 33 million. Noncommunicable diseases represented eight of the 10 leading causes. They now account for 74 percent of global deaths, up from 58 percent in 2000, when the study began.

Ischaemic heart disease is the world's biggest killer, responsible for 16 percent of deaths. It has seen the largest increase in deaths between 2000 and 2023, rising from 3.0 million to 9.5 million. Stroke and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ranked second and third, responsible for approximately 11 percent and six percent of total deaths respectively.

Lower respiratory infections, the world's most deadly communicable disease, came fourth. Alzheimer's disease and other forms of dementia came fifth, killing 2.1 million people.

Is Covid-19 still a leading cause of death?

Covid-19 dropped out of the top 10 leading causes of death for the first time since the pandemic began. It was directly responsible for an estimated 5.3 million deaths (third place) in 2020 and 9.4 million (first) in 2021. That figure fell to 900,000 directly attributable deaths in 2023, making it the 14th leading cause of death.

Deaths from HIV and AIDS have fallen by 62 percent since 2020. The disease moved from the world's seventh leading cause of death in 2000 to 22nd place in 2023.