Berliner Boersenzeitung - Covid lowered life expectancy by 1.6 years worldwide: study

EUR -
AED 3.898523
AFN 71.644005
ALL 97.648604
AMD 411.303772
ANG 1.914021
AOA 969.589347
ARS 1059.019177
AUD 1.626695
AWG 1.912116
AZN 1.80447
BAM 1.955933
BBD 2.144347
BDT 126.914629
BGN 1.954472
BHD 0.400029
BIF 3075.943987
BMD 1.061402
BND 1.421364
BOB 7.364849
BRL 6.103346
BSD 1.062022
BTN 89.684337
BWP 14.448665
BYN 3.475501
BYR 20803.485902
BZD 2.140647
CAD 1.480529
CDF 3045.163175
CHF 0.936725
CLF 0.037924
CLP 1046.446944
CNY 7.676591
COP 4708.91149
CRC 543.462642
CUC 1.061402
CUP 28.127162
CVE 110.75745
CZK 25.388317
DJF 188.63237
DKK 7.459344
DOP 63.949359
DZD 141.630617
EGP 52.228957
ETB 129.544535
FJD 2.403068
GBP 0.83336
GEL 2.907944
GHS 17.422944
GMD 75.88837
GNF 9160.963762
GTQ 8.206946
GYD 222.173049
HKD 8.255656
HNL 26.609498
HTG 139.686101
HUF 410.858482
IDR 16798.071884
ILS 3.986711
INR 89.576785
IQD 1389.00842
IRR 44690.345182
ISK 147.502873
JMD 168.751502
JOD 0.752638
JPY 164.256789
KES 137.455129
KGS 91.487137
KHR 4303.986593
KMF 488.643096
KRW 1496.142353
KWD 0.326385
KYD 0.885002
KZT 527.030748
LAK 23308.395923
LBP 95101.650121
LKR 310.555796
LRD 196.730493
LSL 19.220988
LTL 3.134045
LVL 0.642031
LYD 5.1637
MAD 10.530204
MDL 19.010191
MGA 4935.52124
MKD 61.5696
MMK 3447.393404
MOP 8.50898
MRU 42.348517
MUR 50.002527
MVR 16.409566
MWK 1841.533028
MXN 21.879534
MYR 4.710487
MZN 67.850153
NAD 19.221764
NGN 1775.386729
NIO 39.027305
NOK 11.770703
NPR 143.49454
NZD 1.792862
OMR 0.408655
PAB 1.062022
PEN 4.021622
PGK 4.261796
PHP 62.358462
PKR 295.01699
PLN 4.35371
PYG 8297.565537
QAR 3.864301
RON 4.975817
RSD 116.983541
RUB 104.280832
RWF 1449.875599
SAR 3.988118
SBD 8.864043
SCR 14.393167
SDG 638.433911
SEK 11.579719
SGD 1.421722
SLE 24.195333
SOS 606.572528
SRD 37.398523
STD 21968.885515
SVC 9.293071
SZL 19.221951
THB 37.033402
TJS 11.288563
TMT 3.714908
TND 3.340765
TOP 2.485908
TRY 36.491299
TTD 7.216832
TWD 34.42106
TZS 2825.309757
UAH 43.984498
UGX 3902.449814
USD 1.061402
UYU 44.775161
UZS 13601.870796
VES 47.628304
VND 26906.549368
XAF 656.032617
XCD 2.868493
XDR 0.800092
XOF 652.762858
XPF 119.331742
YER 265.111791
ZAR 19.232187
ZMK 9553.893659
ZMW 28.913333
ZWL 341.771121
  • RBGPF

    0.0300

    60.22

    +0.05%

  • SCS

    0.0200

    13.67

    +0.15%

  • CMSC

    -0.1800

    24.54

    -0.73%

  • CMSD

    -0.2100

    24.75

    -0.85%

  • BTI

    0.0900

    35.24

    +0.26%

  • RIO

    -1.4000

    61.2

    -2.29%

  • NGG

    -1.2400

    62.9

    -1.97%

  • RYCEF

    -0.1700

    7.16

    -2.37%

  • RELX

    -1.2100

    46.59

    -2.6%

  • GSK

    -0.8300

    35.52

    -2.34%

  • AZN

    0.4000

    65.19

    +0.61%

  • BCC

    -2.0100

    141.13

    -1.42%

  • JRI

    -0.3000

    13.22

    -2.27%

  • VOD

    -0.8500

    8.47

    -10.04%

  • BCE

    -0.1600

    27.69

    -0.58%

  • BP

    -0.7600

    28.16

    -2.7%

Covid lowered life expectancy by 1.6 years worldwide: study
Covid lowered life expectancy by 1.6 years worldwide: study / Photo: Sakis MITROLIDIS - AFP/File

Covid lowered life expectancy by 1.6 years worldwide: study

Covid-19 caused the average life expectancy of people worldwide to fall by 1.6 years during the first two years of the pandemic, a more dramatic decline than previously thought, a major study said Tuesday.

Text size:

This marked a sharp reversal during a decades-long rise in global life expectancy, according to hundreds of researchers sifting through data for the US-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).

"For adults worldwide, the Covid-19 pandemic has had a more profound impact than any event seen in half a century, including conflicts and natural disasters," said Austin Schumacher, an IHME researcher and lead author of the study published in The Lancet journal.

During 2020-2021, life expectancy declined in 84 percent of the 204 countries and territories analysed, "demonstrating the devastating potential impacts" of new viruses, he said in a statement.

The rate of death for people over 15 rose by 22 percent for men and 17 percent for women during this time, the researchers estimated.

Mexico City, Peru and Bolivia were some of the places were life expectancy fell the most.

But there was some good news in the updated estimates of the IHME's landmark Global Burden of Disease study.

Half a million fewer children under the age of five died in 2021 compared to 2019, continuing a long-term decline in child mortality.

IHME researcher Hmwe Hmwe Kyu hailed this "incredible progress," saying the world should now focus on "the next pandemic and addressing the vast disparities in health across countries".

And despite the setback during the pandemic, people still live far longer than they used to.

Between 1950 and 2021, the average life expectancy at birth has risen by 23 years, from 49 to 72, the researchers said.

- 16 million Covid-linked deaths -

Covid was responsible for 15.9 million excess deaths during 2020-2021, either directly from the virus or indirectly due to pandemic-related disruptions, the researchers estimated.

That is a million more excess deaths than previously estimated by the World Health Organization.

Excess deaths are calculated by comparing the total number of deaths with how many would have been expected if there had not been a pandemic.

Barbados, New Zealand and Antigua and Barbuda were among the countries with the lowest rate of excess deaths during the pandemic, partly reflecting how isolated islands were often spared the full brunt of Covid.

The study also showed how the populations of many ageing, well-off countries have started to decrease, while numbers continue to grow in less wealthy countries.

This dynamic "will bring about unprecedented social, economic, and political challenges, such as labour shortages in areas where younger populations are shrinking and resource scarcity in places where population size continues to expand rapidly," Schumacher warned.

"Nations around the world will need to cooperate on voluntary emigration," he added.

(O.Joost--BBZ)