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QuickStats: Life Expectancy Ranking* at
Birth,† by Sex --- Selected Countries and Territories,
2004§¶
* Rankings are from the highest to lowest female life expectancy at birth.
† 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.
§ Countries and territories were selected based on quality of data, high life expectancy, and a population of at least 1 million population. Differences in life
expectancy reflect differences in reporting methods, which can vary by country, and actual differences in mortality rates.
¶ Most recent data available. Data for Ireland and Italy are for 2003.
In 2004, life expectancy at birth ranged from a low of 59.1 years for the Russian male population to a high of
85.6 years for the female population of Japan. In the United States, life expectancy for men (75.2 years) ranked 25th out
of 37 countries and territories and 23rd for women (80.4 years). Japan and Hong Kong were the countries with
the highest life expectancy, whereas the countries of Eastern Europe (e.g., Russian Federation, Romania, and
Bulgaria) reported the lowest life expectancy.
SOURCES: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. OECD health data 2007: statistics
and indicators for 30 countries. Paris, France: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development; 2008. Available
at http://www.oecd.org/health/healthdata.
CDC. Health, United States, 2007. With chartbook on trends in the health of Americans. Hyattsville, MD:
US Department of Health and Human Services, CDC, National Center for Health Statistics; 2007. Available at
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus07.pdf.
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