COVID-19 Cuts Global Life Expectancy by Nearly 2 Years: WHO
In a sobering revelation, the World Health Organization (WHO) has highlighted the profound impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on global life expectancy. According to the latest World Health Statistics 2024 report, the pandemic has reversed nearly a decade of progress in life expectancy within just two years. From 2019 to 2021, global life expectancy dropped by 1.8 years, falling to 71.4 years , which is equivalent to the levels observed in 2012. Similarly, global healthy life expectancy decreased by 1.5 years to 61.9 years , also rolling back to 2012 levels. The report underscores the uneven impact of the pandemic across different regions. The Americas and South-East Asia experienced the most significant declines, with life expectancy dropping by approximately 3 years and healthy life expectancy by 2.5 years. Conversely, the Western Pacific Region saw minimal impact, with less than 0.1 years lost in life expectancy and 0.2 years in healthy life expectancy during the same period. Dr.
