It’s a common misconception that life expectancy has increased only because fewer children die. Historical mortality records show that adults today also live much longer than adults in the past.
It’s true that child mortality rates were much higher in the past, and their decline has greatly improved overall life expectancy. But in recent decades, improvements in survival at older ages have been even more important.
The chart shows the period life expectancy in France for people of different ages. This measures how long someone at each of those ages would live, on average, if they experienced the death rates recorded in that year.
As you can see, life expectancy in France has risen at every age. In 1816, someone who had reached the age of 10 could expect to live to 57. By 2023, this had increased to 84.
For those aged 65, it rose from 76 in 1816 to 87 in 2023.
The data for many other countries shows the same. This remarkable shift is the result of advances in medicine, public health, and living standards.
by ourworldindata
8 Comments
**Data sources:** [Human Mortality Database](https://www.mortality.org/Data/ZippedDataFiles) (2024); [UN World Population Prospects](https://population.un.org/wpp/downloads?folder=Standard%20Projections&group=Most%20used) (2024)
**Tools used:** OWID-Grapher with finishing in Figma
Is there any country where the general trend over the last 200 years has not been positive across all ages?
Why did the 45year graph instead of dip during the world war make a big leap after it?
Can someone explain why 10 year old lifespan goes down so much in WWI? They weren’t impacted by the front line shouldn’t they be similar to 40 year olds?
Long living human is not a good news all things considered.
Don’t forget the flue that started in Kansas and spread to europe through all the military bases the U.S.A had yes that is called spanish. You filthy pigs.
1st time seing this kind of graph, it’s very interesring, thanks
The Spanish Flu really F-up 25 year old huh.