THE holy grail for all humanity must surely be the secret to a long and healthy life. Tireless in their pursuit of longevity’s elixir, researchers generally agree that a combination of good genes, a balanced diet, regular exercise, stress management, restorative sleep, social connections, and a dose of daily laughter can significantly increase the chances of living into your eighties—or beyond.
While Australians champion the research, marking the nation as one of the highest-ranking OECD countries for high life expectancy from birth, recently released data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) indicates a slight fall in the country’s life expectancy for second year running, as well as dropping in its global ranking.
According to the ABS, the life expectancy for an Australian girl born today is 85.1 years, while for a boy its 81.1 years. These statistics reflect a slight dip, down by 0.1 years for males and 0.2 years for females for the period 2021- 2023 and is largely due to the continued impact of COVID. While the pandemic certainly took a toll, particularly in 2022 when nearly 20,000 additional deaths occurred, the overall trend over the past decade, nevertheless remains positive.
In fact, life expectancy has increased steadily since 1993, with males living 6.1 years longer and females 4.2 years longer. This reflects decades of medical and public health progress, and while the pandemic caused a temporary setback, the long-term trajectory remains upward.
Globally, Australia has the fourth highest life expectancy at birth amongst OECD countries and is equal with Spain at 83.2 years. Australia previously sat above Spain in third place.
Unsurprisingly, Japan remains the country with highest life expectancy rates globally at 84.1 years, followed by Switzerland at 83.7 years and South Korea at 83.6.
