US Life Expectancy

Posted On August 20, 2009

Even with our ever increasing obesity rates — which make it more likely that we’ll die of a host of illnesses — Americans are living a bit longer now.

It’s not just us, other nations are increasing their life expectancy too, so this is a global phenomenon and not something we’re doing specifically.
Also, we still lag behind most developed nations in terms of the length of our lives. Worse, our infant mortality rates are higher than most other first-world countries as well. Yes, part of this is due to the fact that we try to save preemies more often, which can artificially elevate the infant mortality number somewhat. However, this can’t explain this tremendous national failure.



U.S. life expectancy has risen to a new high, now standing at nearly 78 years, the government reported Wednesday. The increase is due mainly to falling death rates in almost all the leading causes of death. The average life expectancy for babies born in 2007 is nearly three months greater than for children born in 2006.

The United States continues to lag behind about 30 other countries in estimated life span. Japan has the longest life expectancy — 83 years for children born in 2007, according to the World Health Organization.


The nation’s infant mortality rate rose slightly in 2007, to 6.77 infant deaths per 1,000 births, but the rise was not statistically significant. It has been at about the same level for several years.

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Will Clower

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