Life Expectancy for Those Born in 2022: 82.7 Years... Men 79.9 Years, Women 85.6 Years

Statistics Korea Releases '2022 Life Table' on the 1st

It was projected that babies born last year would live an average of 82.7 years. Life expectancy decreased by nearly one year compared to the previous year. The life expectancy of Koreans was about 2 years higher than the average of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). The gender gap in life expectancy was 5.8 years, showing a decreasing trend since peaking at 8.6 years in 1985.

According to the "2022 Life Table" released by Statistics Korea on the 1st, the life expectancy of children born last year was 82.7 years, down 0.9 years from the previous year. The life table is a statistic that estimates how long a person of a certain age can live if the current age-specific mortality rates are maintained. The life expectancy at birth is calculated under the assumption that the current age-specific mortality rates remain constant. The life expectancy for boys was 79.9 years, and for girls, it was 85.6 years, a decrease of 0.8 years for boys and 1.0 year for girls compared to the previous year.

Compared to the OECD member country average, the life expectancy of Korean men was 1.9 years higher than the OECD average (78.0 years), and the life expectancy of women was 2.4 years higher than the OECD average (83.2 years). Among OECD member countries, only Japan (men 81.5 years, women 87.6 years) and Spain (men 80.4 years, women 85.9 years) had longer life expectancies than Korea.

Life expectancy at a specific age, which refers to the remaining years of life, also decreased compared to the previous year. The life expectancy of 60-year-old men last year was 22.8 years, and for women, it was 27.4 years, a decrease of 0.7 years for men and 1.0 year for women compared to the previous year. The probability that a child born in 2022 will survive to age 80 was 61.1% for men and 80.2% for women, down 2.0 percentage points for men and 1.5 percentage points for women compared to the previous year. At all ages, the survival probability of women was higher than that of men.

The main causes of death for babies born last year were cancer (18.1%), heart disease (9.5%), COVID-19 (9.4%), pneumonia (8.3%), and cerebrovascular disease (6.8%). Compared to the previous year, the probability of death from cancer, heart disease, pneumonia, and cerebrovascular disease decreased, but the probability of death from COVID-19 increased. If cancer were eliminated, life expectancy was expected to increase by 3.1 years for both men and women. The life expectancy excluding the duration of illness for babies born in 2022 was 65.8 years, and the life expectancy subjectively considered healthy was 72.2 years.