Global life expectancy nearly back to pre-pandemic levels, WHO says

Global life expectancy nearly returned to pre-pandemic levels by 2023, reaching 73.3 years, close to the 73.4 years recorded in 2019, according to a World Health Organization report released Oct 2. The figure marks a recovery from the pandemic-era low of 71.5 years in 2021. Healthy life expectancy recovered more slowly, standing at 62.8 years in 2023, still 0.4 years below the 2019 level. Dementia deaths have tripled, while anxiety- and depression-related health loss has risen sharply since the pandemic. Non-communicable diseases now account for 74 percent of global deaths, up from 58 percent in 2000. Ischaemic heart disease remained the world’s top killer, causing 16 percent of deaths, with fatalities rising from 3 million to 9.5 million between 2000 and 2023. Covid-19 dropped out of the top 10 causes of death for the first time since the pandemic, falling to 14th place with 900,000 directly attributable deaths in 2023.