Is life expectancy rising in Australia? Photo by Esther Ann on Unsplash
No human being can know how long he or she will live, which is why it’s a good idea to be prepared by getting life insurance.
Speaking of which, if you want to get the best deal for your life insurance, you should use a comparison site like iSelect to compare quotes from different insurance companies.
But at least if you live in Australia, you could potentially live longer. According to a report from the Australian Bureau of Statistics, which was released in November 2021, life expectancy in Australia is continuing to rise. Let’s take a look at the findings in more detail.
Babies Born in Australia Today Have the Highest Estimated Life Expectancy Ever for the Country
The report found that males in Australia are expected to live to 81.2 years on average. Females are expected to live until 85.3 years.
In fact, those statistics mean that babies born today have the highest ever estimated life expectancy recorded in Australia.
While it’s true that the life expectancy for those born in Australia is higher than ever before, life expectancy has been on the rise in Oz for some time. Let’s examine just how much life expectancy has increased in recent years.
Between 2017 and 2019, male life expectancy in Australia was 80.9 years, whereas it is now 81.2 years.
During the same time period, female life expectancy in the country was 85.0 years, whereas it is now 85.3 years.
So, although females continue to have a higher life expectancy than males, the life expectancy for males is improving at a faster rate compared to females.
To get a clearer picture of how life expectancy has been continuing to rise in Australia, let’s look back to over three decades ago.
In 1990, the life expectancy at birth for a male child born in Australia was only 73.9 years, while the life expectancy for females was 80.1 years.
So, in 1990, the gap in life expectancy between males and females was 6.2 years. Today, the gap has narrowed to 4.1 years.
Looking at different regions in Australia allows us to gain a more detailed picture of life expectancy in the country.
The highest life expectancy for both males and females is found in the Australian Capital Territory. On average, males live to 82.1 years and females live to 85.9 years.
At the other end of the spectrum, the lowest life expectancy for males and females in Australia is found in the Northern Territory. On average males in the Northern Territory live to 76.2 years and females live to 81.0 years.
However, those statistics for the Northern Territory are perhaps a little deceiving because the region has actually seen the largest gains in life expectancy for both males and females over the last thirty years out of all the states and territories in Oz.
Males’ life expectancy in the Northern Territory has increased over the last thirty years by 9.9 years and females’ life expectancy has increased by 8.7 years.
Life expectancy is undoubtedly improving in Australia, but how does it compare to other countries?
Well, Australia has the sixth-highest combined life expectancy for males and females in the world, falling behind Japan, Switzerland, Singapore, Spain and Italy.
When it comes to male life expectancy, residents of Australia are ranked fifth in the world. Females are ranked eighth.