Life Expectancy

In 2001, persons reaching age 65 had an average life expectancy of an additional 18.1 years (19.4 years for females and 16.4 years for males).

A child born in 2001 could expect to live 77.2 years, about 30 years longer than a child born in 1900. Much of this increase occurred because of reduced death rates for children and young adults. However, the past two decades have also seen reduced death rates for the population aged 65-84, especially for men - by 29.0% for men aged 65-74 and by 22.5% for men aged 75-84. Life expectancy at age 65 increased by only 2.5 years between 1900 and 1960, but has increased by 3.8 years from 1960 to 2001.