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Life expectancy below 40 for some African countries, global population growth rates slow




Life expectancy below 40 for some African countries, global population growth rates slow


Life expectancy below 40 for some African countries, global population growth rates slow
Rhett A. Butler, mongabay.com
April 16, 2006

Children born in six African countries can expect to die before their 41st birthday while kids born in 16 countries can expect to live past 80 according to an annual report released by the UN’s World Health Organization.

The report, “World Health Report 2006 – Working together for health”, released earlier this month reveals a widening between the quality of life for the world’s poorest and richest people.

Most of the world’s shortest life expectancies occurs in Africa where the AIDS epidemic, malnutrition, curable diseases, and civil strife have taken a tremendous toll on human life. In all, of the 29 countries where life expectancy at birth is 50 years or less, 28 are in Africa. The only outlier is warn-torn Afghanistan, where life expectancy is 42 years. Of the 40 countries with the shortest life expectancy, 38 are in Africa.

In Iraq, presently one of the world’s most violent countries, life expectancy for babies born in 2004 was 55 years.

The report shows an estimated shortage of almost 4.3 million doctors, midwives, nurses and support workers worldwide. It says the shortage is most severe in the world’s poorest countries, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, where health workers are most needed.



School children in Madagascar. Photo by R. Butler

According to the report, the world’s shortest life expectancy occurs in Zimbabwe where strongman Robert Mugabe has held a stranglehold over the once prosperous country for more than 25 years. A child born in Zimbabwe will be lucky to see the age of 37. If she is female, the UN forecasts death by 34.


At the opposite end of the spectrum, a baby born in Japan can expect to live to 82 years. In all, 47 countries have life expectancies exceeding 75 years.

The world’s largest countries, China and India, have life expectancies of 72 and 62 respectively. The discrepancy is expected to have a significant economic impact in coming years and China will have to divert resources from its otherwise booming economy to address the needs of its rapidly aging population.

Slowing population growth

The report also reveals slowing world population growth. Global birth rates fell to the lowest level in recorded history with the average woman in the developing world having 2.9 children, down from an average of nearly 6 babies in the 1970s. UN demographers predict that fertility in most of the developing world will fall below the replacement level (2.1 children per woman) before the end of the 21st century. Factors leading to falling birth rates include increased level education for women, the use of contraceptives, and urbanization.

Of the 192 countries surveyed by the WHO, 66 have fertility rates at or below replacement level. Of these about 20 are considered “less developed” countries and the UN projects that by 2050, 75 percent of less developed countries will be experiencing below-replacement fertility. China, which implemented a strict one-child per family policy in 1979, has the largest drop in fertility rates with an average of 4.3 fewer children per woman since 1970.

While around one-third of countries now have birthrates below replacement level, the lowest fertility rates are in the world’s 44 most developed countries, which account for 19 per cent of the world population. All except Albania have fertility below replacement level and 15, mostly located in Southern and Eastern Europe, have reached levels of fertility unprecedented in human history (below 1.3 children per woman). Japan, Italy, Spain, Germany, and most of the successor States of the former USSR are expected to have significantly lower populations by 2050. In contrast, the United States — which has the highest fertility rate of rich countries — is projected to be the seventh largest contributor to world population growth over the next five decades.

Because of its low and declining rate of population growth, the population of developed countries as a whole is expected to remain virtually unchanged between 2005 and 2050, at about 1.2 billion. In contrast, the population of the 50 least developed countries is projected to more than double, passing from 0.8 billion in 2005 to 1.7 billion in 2050. Some of these country are expected to experience very rapid population growth: between 2005 and 2050, the population is projected to at least triple in Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Chad, Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo, East Timor, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger and Uganda. Growth in the rest of the developing world is also projected to be robust, though less rapid, with its population rising from 4.5 billion to 6.1 billion between 2005 and 2050.





The highest population growth rates are in the Middle East, while the lowest — often negative growth rates — are found in eastern Europe among countries that were once part of the Soviet Union.




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Demographic figures







































































































































































































Total populationAnnual population growth rateLife expectancy at birth
Both sexes
Life expectancy at birth
Life expectancy at birth% of population aged 60+ yearsTotal fertility rate
population (000)(%)Both sexesMalesFemalesTotal
Country2004200420042004200420042004
Afghanistan28,574,0003.94242424.47.4
Albania3,112,000-0.272697411.82.2
Algeria32,358,0001.67169726.42.5
Andorra67,0000.780778321.31.3
Angola15,490,0002.64038424.06.7
Antigua and Barbuda81,0001.772707510.52.3
Argentina38,372,0001.175717813.82.3
Armenia3,026,000-0.868657214.71.3
Australia19,942,0001.281788317.01.7
Austria8,171,0000.279768222.31.4
Azerbaijan8,355,0000.86563689.31.8
Bahamas319,0001.57370769.12.3
Bahrain716,0002.47473754.32.4
Bangladesh139,215,0002.06262635.63.2
Barbados269,0000.375717813.11.5
Belarus9,811,000-0.568637418.81.2
Belgium10,400,0000.378758122.21.7
Belize264,0002.46865725.93.1
Benin8,177,0003.25352534.35.7
Bhutan2,116,0002.26362656.94.2
Bolivia9,009,0002.16563666.73.8
Bosnia and Herzegovina3,909,0001.073707718.91.3
Botswana1,769,0001.14040405.03.1
Brazil183,913,0001.57067748.72.3
Brunei Darussalam366,0002.47776784.62.4
Bulgaria7,780,000-0.772697622.31.2
Burkina Faso12,822,0003.04847484.36.6
Burundi7,282,0001.84542474.26.8
Cambodia13,798,0002.25451585.54.0
Cameroon16,038,0002.15050515.64.5
Canada31,958,0001.080788317.51.5
Cape Verde495,0002.47067715.73.6
Central African Republic3,986,0001.84140416.14.9
Chad9,448,0003.34645484.76.7
Chile16,124,0001.377748111.32.0
China1,315,409,0000.872707410.81.7
Colombia44,915,0001.77368777.42.6
Comoros777,0002.86462674.34.7
Congo3,883,0003.25453554.56.3
Cook Islands18,000-0.97270757.52.6
Costa Rica4,253,0002.37775808.12.2
Côte d’Ivoire17,872,0002.24441475.24.9
Croatia4,540,000-0.375727921.91.3
Cuba11,245,0000.478758014.91.6
Cyprus826,0001.479778216.51.6
Czech Republic10,229,000-0.176737919.61.2
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea22,384,0000.866656810.92.0
Democratic Republic of the Congo55,853,0002.54442474.36.7
Denmark5,414,0000.478758020.71.8
Djibouti779,0002.75654574.64.9
Dominica79,0000.574727610.52.0
Dominican Republic8,768,0001.56764706.12.7
Ecuador13,040,0001.57270758.12.7
Egypt72,642,0001.96866707.13.2
El Salvador6,762,0002.07168747.52.8
Equatorial Guinea492,0002.44342446.05.9
Eritrea4,232,0003.36058623.95.4
Estonia1,335,000-1.072667821.51.4
Ethiopia75,600,0002.65049514.65.7
Fiji841,0001.06966716.22.9
Finland5,235,0000.379758220.91.7
France60,257,0000.480768320.91.9
Gabon1,362,0002.35755596.23.9
Gambia1,478,0003.25755595.94.6
Georgia4,518,000-1.374707718.01.4
Germany82,645,0000.279768224.81.3
Ghana21,664,0002.35756585.64.2
Greece11,098,0000.579778222.91.2
Grenada102,0000.368666910.52.4
Guatemala12,295,0002.36865716.14.5
Guinea9,202,0002.45352555.65.8
Guinea—Bissau1,540,0002.94745484.87.1
Guyana750,0000.36362647.32.2
Haiti8,407,0001.45553566.03.9
Honduras7,048,0002.66765705.53.6
Hungary10,124,000-0.273697720.51.3
Iceland292,0001.081798315.62.0
India1,087,124,0001.76261637.83.0
Indonesia220,077,0001.36765688.22.3
Iran, Islamic Republic of68,803,0001.27068726.42.1
Iraq28,057,0003.05551614.54.7
Ireland4,080,0001.378758115.01.9
Israel6,601,0002.480788213.12.8
Italy58,033,0000.181788425.31.3
Jamaica2,639,0000.772707410.12.4
Japan127,923,0000.282798625.61.3
Jordan5,561,0003.17169735.03.4
Kazakhstan14,839,000-0.861566711.41.9
Kenya33,467,0002.45151504.15.0
Kiribati97,0002.26563676.54.1
Kuwait2,606,0004.17776783.02.3
Kyrgyzstan5,204,0001.46359677.72.6
Lao People’s Democratic Republic5,792,0002.45958605.34.7
Latvia2,318,000-0.971667622.31.3
Lebanon3,540,0001.470687210.22.3
Lesotho1,798,0000.74139447.43.5
Liberia3,241,0004.64239443.76.8
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya5,740,0002.07270756.32.9
Lithuania3,443,000-0.672667820.51.3
Luxembourg459,0001.479768118.31.7
Madagascar18,113,0003.05755594.85.3
Malawi12,608,0002.44141414.66.0
Malaysia24,894,0002.37269746.82.8
Maldives321,0002.86766685.14.1
Mali13,124,0002.94644474.36.8
Malta400,0000.779768118.31.5
Marshall Islands60,0001.76260646.54.4
Mauritania2,980,0002.95855605.35.7
Mauritius1,233,0001.17269759.42.0
Mexico105,699,0001.57472777.62.3
Micronesia, Federated States of110,0000.47068714.94.3
Monaco35,0001.182788520.91.8
Mongolia2,614,0001.06561695.72.4
Morocco31,020,0001.67169736.82.7
Mozambique19,424,0002.44544465.25.4
Myanmar50,004,0001.35956637.42.3
Namibia2,009,0002.35452555.23.8
Nauru13,0002.56158656.53.8
Nepal26,591,0002.36161615.73.6
Netherlands16,226,0000.579778118.91.7
New Zealand3,989,0001.080778216.52.0
Nicaragua5,376,0002.16967714.83.2
Niger13,499,0003.54142413.37.8
Nigeria128,709,0002.44645464.85.7
Niue1,000-2.17168747.52.8
Norway4,598,0000.680778219.81.8
Oman2,534,0001.87471774.03.6
Pakistan154,794,0002.36262635.84.1
Palau20,0001.66867706.51.4
Panama3,175,0002.07673788.62.7
Papua New Guinea5,772,0002.46058613.93.9
Paraguay6,017,0002.57270745.63.8
Peru27,562,0001.67169737.62.8
Philippines81,617,0002.06865726.03.1
Poland38,559,0000.075717916.71.2
Portugal10,441,0000.478748122.11.5
Qatar777,0004.27676752.62.9
Republic of Korea47,645,0000.777738013.31.2
Republic of Moldova4,218,000-0.367647113.71.2
Romania21,790,000-0.572687619.21.3
Russian Federation143,899,000-0.365597217.31.3
Rwanda8,882,0004.94644473.95.6
Saint Kitts and Nevis42,0000.571697210.52.4
Saint Lucia159,0000.97471779.82.2
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines118,0000.56966738.92.2
Samoa184,0001.06866706.54.3
San Marino28,0000.982798425.31.2
Sao Tome and Principe153,0002.05957605.83.9
Saudi Arabia23,950,0002.87168744.53.9
Senegal11,386,0002.55554574.84.9
Serbia and Montenegro10,510,0000.073707518.41.6
Seychelles80,0000.77267789.42.1
Sierra Leone5,336,0002.63937405.56.5
Singapore4,273,0002.480778211.81.3
Slovakia5,401,0000.174707816.01.2
Slovenia1,967,0000.077738120.21.2
Solomon Islands466,0002.86866704.14.2
Somalia7,964,0002.34443454.26.3
South Africa47,208,0001.44847496.62.8
Spain42,646,0000.780778321.31.3
Sri Lanka20,570,0001.071687510.51.9
Sudan35,523,0002.25856605.64.3
Suriname446,0000.86765708.92.6
Swaziland1,034,0001.03736395.33.8
Sweden9,008,0000.281788323.01.7
Switzerland7,240,0000.481788321.41.4
Syrian Arab Republic18,582,0002.67270744.73.3
Tajikistan6,430,0001.26362645.23.7
Thailand63,694,0001.070677310.21.9
The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia2,030,0000.472697615.31.5
Timor—Leste887,0000.56361665.07.8
Togo5,988,0003.25452564.85.2
Tonga102,0000.67171708.73.4
Trinidad and Tobago1,301,0000.470677310.51.6
Tunisia9,995,0001.27270748.61.9
Turkey72,220,0001.67169737.92.4
Turkmenistan4,766,0001.56056656.32.7
Tuvalu10,0000.66161627.53.7
Uganda27,821,0003.24948513.97.1
Ukraine46,989,000-1.067627321.01.1
United Arab Emirates4,284,0006.47776791.72.5
United Kingdom59,479,0000.379768121.01.7
United Republic of Tanzania37,627,0002.34847495.04.9
United States of America295,410,0001.078758016.52.0
Uruguay3,439,0000.775717917.42.3
Uzbekistan26,209,0001.56663696.32.7
Vanuatu207,0002.16867695.14.0
Venezuela, Bolivarian Republic of26,282,0002.07572787.42.7
Viet Nam83,123,0001.57169747.52.3
Yemen20,329,0003.45957613.76.0
Zambia11,479,0002.14040404.65.5
Zimbabwe12,936,0001.13637345.43.4



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