Indians Live Longer than Pakistanis but Shorter than Bangladeshis, Says WHO
According to the latest estimates from the World Health Organization, Indians can expect to live longer than those in Pakistan, but their life span still falls short compared to people in Bangladesh, the US, and Canada. In 2023, the life expectancy at birth in India was reported at 71 years, while it was 68.2 years in Pakistan and 72.7 years in Bangladesh. Meanwhile, life expectancy reached 78.5 years in the US and 81.4 years in Canada.
However, simply living longer doesn’t imply better health. India’s healthy life expectancy, which reflects years lived in good health, was 60.6 years in 2023—only slightly up from 60.5 years in 2019. It had plummeted to 58.4 years in 2021 but then saw a recovery to 60.2 years in 2022. The figures come from WHO’s Global Health Estimates, which analyze life expectancy, healthy life expectancy, causes of death, and disease burden from 2000 to 2023. WHO also noted that global life expectancy has nearly rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, while healthy life expectancy is recovering at a slower pace.
India Regained 2.9 Years of Expected Lifespan in Two Years
The impact of the pandemic years is especially noticeable in India’s statistics. Life expectancy decreased from 70.5 years in 2019 to 68.1 years in 2021. It then bounced back to 70.5 years in 2022 and reached 71 years in 2023. In just a span of two years, India regained 2.9 years of expected life. However, healthy life expectancy improved by just 2.2 years, rising from 58.4 years in 2021 to 60.6 years in 2023, which is only 0.1 year higher than the 2019 figures.
The differences are also apparent as people age. For instance, a 60-year-old in 2023 could expect to live another 18.8 years, in contrast to 18.4 years in 2019. Yet, only 13.7 of those expected years were to be lived in full health, a slight increase from 13.4 years in 2019.
India’s health landscape has transformed significantly. The incidence of communicable diseases, such as tuberculosis and diarrheal infections, has waned, while non-communicable diseases (NCDs)—like heart disease, stroke, and diabetes—have surged. Back in 2000, communicable diseases were responsible for nearly 62% of deaths from the top 10 leading causes, whereas NCDs accounted for about 34%. By 2023, NCDs made up nearly 75%, whereas the share of communicable diseases diminished to 16%. The remainder of deaths was due to injuries.
This shift is clearly seen in the top causes of death. In 2000, tuberculosis and diarrheal diseases led the ranks, with 92.4 and 87.8 deaths per 100,000 individuals, respectively. Fast forward to 2023, and ischaemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, stroke, and diabetes have become prevalent, with rates of 138.5, 83.19, 74.8, and 49.01, respectively. Still, infectious diseases continue to pose a significant burden, as diarrheal diseases, tuberculosis, and lower respiratory infections remain among the top ten causes of death in India as of 2023.
On a global level, the trend towards chronic diseases is equally notable. NCDs were responsible for 74% of deaths in 2023, an increase from 58% in 2000, and eight out of the ten leading causes of death worldwide were NCDs. The global life expectancy stood at 73.3 years in 2023, almost returning to the 73.4 years noted in 2019, while the healthy life expectancy was recorded at 62.8 years, still 0.4 years below the 2019 level.
