WHO: Global life expectancy nearly back to pre-pandemic levels

Global life expectancy nearly returned to pre-pandemic levels by 2023, reaching 73.3 years, just shy of the 73.4 years recorded in 2019, according to a new WHO report released Friday. Healthy life expectancy recovered more slowly, standing at 62.8 years in 2023, still 0.4 years below the 2019 figure. The report also noted dementia deaths have tripled and anxiety-related health loss has risen sharply since the pandemic. Noncommunicable diseases now cause 74 percent of global deaths, with ischaemic heart disease the leading killer. Covid-19 dropped out of the top 10 causes of death for the first time since the pandemic began.