Wondering how long you’re going to live, and how it will all end? Here’s what the numbers say – according to the experts.
The average life expectancy in North America right now is 78 years. That’s going up, however. By 2030, which sounds like way in the future, but is just fourteen years from now, that is expected to increase by two years. So that gives you a solid eighty years to get things done and make your impact on the world.
The global average life expectancy is 72 years right now. The longest life expectancy is in Japan, currently at 81 years and predicted to increase to 88 years by 2030. The shortest life expectancy is calculated to be in Namibia at just 51 years.
The data comes from the World Health Organization’s Projections of Mortality and Causes of Death 2015 – 2030 report, which forecasts what health challenges the world will face over the next decade and a half.
So what’s killing us, and how will we die?
The top five killing diseases by 2030
While prostate cancer is the disease that is seeing the most rapid increase in death toll, the number of fatalities caused by this affliction don’t put it in the top five predicted for 2030. If you’re still with us 14 years from now, the odds are that you’re going to die of coronary artery disease. According to the World Health Organization, this will be the deadliest disease in North and South America, Europe, the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
The North American top five:
- Coronary artery disease
- Stroke
- Diabetes
- Alzheimer’s
- Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
The leading cause of death in the African continent is predicted to continue to be HIV/AIDS in 2030. Along the Pacific region, stroke tops the list.
These findings have been summarized in greater detail in a series of infographics from the team at Medigo.
