The COVID-19 pandemic significantly reduced global life expectancy by almost two years between 2019 and 2021, according to a World Health Organization (WHO) report released on Friday. This drop eradicated a decade of progress in life expectancy improvements.
“The COVID-19 pandemic reversed the trend of steady gain in life expectancy at birth and healthy life expectancy at birth,” stated the UN health agency.
The WHO’s annual world health statistics study revealed that global life expectancy fell by 1.8 years, bringing it down to 71.4 years, a level not seen since 2012. The average time a person can expect to live in good health also declined, falling 1.5 years to 61.9 years, matching the 2012 level.
This impact surpassed findings from a January study by the Lancet, which reported a 1.6-year decline in average life expectancy during the pandemic. Researchers from that study emphasized that COVID-19 had a “more profound impact” on life expectancy than any other event in the past fifty years.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus commented on the figures, highlighting the necessity of a global pandemic security accord currently being negotiated in Geneva. “This accord is vital not only for strengthening global health security but also for protecting long-term investments in health and promoting equity within and between countries,” he said.
The Lancet researchers estimated that COVID-19 caused approximately 15.9 million excess deaths during 2020-2021, either directly from the virus or due to disruptions in health systems.
The WHO report noted that the decline in life expectancy was not uniform worldwide. The Americas and Southeast Asia experienced the most significant decreases, with life expectancy falling by about three years in these regions. Conversely, the Western Pacific region saw a minimal impact, with a decline of just 0.1 year.
