NEW DELHI: Indians can expect to live longer than their counterparts in Pakistan, but have shorter lives than people in Bangladesh, the United States and Canada, according to the latest estimates from the World Health Organization.Life expectancy at birth in India was 71 years in 2023, compared to 68.2 years in Pakistan, 72.7 years in Bangladesh, 78.5 years in the United States and 81.4 years in Canada. But living longer doesn’t necessarily mean living more years in good health. Healthy life expectancy in India was 60.6 years in 2023, up from 60.5 years in 2019. It had fallen to 58.4 years in 2021 before rising to 60.2 years in 2022. The figures are part of WHO’s global health estimates, released on Friday, covering life expectancy, healthy life expectancy, causes of death and disease burden from 2000 to 2023. The WHO said global life expectancy has recovered to close to pre-pandemic levels, while healthy life expectancy has recovered more slowly.
In 2 years from 2021, India regained 2.9 years of life expectancy: WHO
For India, the difference is particularly visible during the pandemic years. Life expectancy increased from 70.5 years in 2019 to 68.1 years in 2021 before rising to 70.5 years in 2022 and 71 years in 2023. In just two years, India has regained 2.9 years of life expectancy.Healthy life expectancy, however, only increased by 2.2 years, from 58.4 years in 2021 to 60.6 years in 2023, leaving it just 0.1 years above the 2019 level.The gap is also visible among older Indians. At age 60, a person could expect to live another 18.8 years in 2023, compared to 18.4 years in 2019. But 13.7 of these years should be lived in full health, compared to 13.4 years in 2019.The disease profile in India has changed dramatically. Communicable diseases, such as tuberculosis and diarrheal infections, can spread from person to person, while non-communicable diseases (NCDs), such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes, are usually long-term conditions.In 2000, communicable diseases accounted for almost 62% of the combined mortality rate from the country’s 10 leading causes, while NCDs accounted for 34%. By 2023, the trend had reversed, with NCDs accounting for almost 75% and communicable diseases 16% of the combined mortality rate of the top 10 causes. The rest was due to injuries.
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The change is evident in the main causes. In 2000, tuberculosis and diarrheal diseases topped the list, with 92.4 and 87.8 deaths per 100,000 population. In 2023, ischemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, stroke, and diabetes were among the leading causes, with rates of 138.5, 83.19, 74.8, and 49.01, respectively. Yet infectious diseases remain a significant burden, with diarrheal diseases, tuberculosis and lower respiratory infections still among the top 10 causes of death in India in 2023.Globally, the trend toward chronic disease is also pronounced. NCDs accounted for 74% of deaths in 2023, up from 58% in 2000, while eight of the ten leading causes of death globally were NCDs. Global life expectancy reached 73.3 years in 2023, almost a return to the 73.4 years recorded in 2019, while healthy life expectancy stood at 62.8 years, still 0.4 years lower than its 2019 level.
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