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QuickStats: Life Expectancy at Birth, by Sex --- Selected Countries, 2001*

* Rankings are from the highest to lowest female life expectancy at birth, as published in Health, United States, 2005 (HUS 2005). Life expectancy at birth represents the average number of years that a group of infants would live if the infants were to experience throughout life the age-specific death rates present at birth. Data are reported by countries. Because calculation of life-expectancy estimates varies by country, comparisons should be made with caution. Certain life-expectancy estimates were revised and differ from those published in HUS 2005.

In 2001, life expectancy (LE) at birth ranged from a low of 59.1 years for Russian males to a high of 84.9 years for Japanese females. LE for males in the United States ranked 26th among 37 countries (74.4 years) and for females ranked 25th (79.8 years). The greatest difference in LE between sexes was observed in Russia (13.2 years). The smallest LE difference between sexes was in Costa Rica (4.3 years).

SOURCE: National Center for Health Statistics, Health, United States, 2005: with chartbook on trends in the health of Americans. Hyattsville, MD: US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC, National Center for Health Statistics; 2005.

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Date last reviewed: 6/7/2006

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