Citizens of Spain will have the longest life expectancy around the world in the next 20 years, a study has predicted.
Spain Tops 2040 Life Expectancy Ranking
The country rose from number 4 in 2016 to the top of the pack this year with a life expectancy of 85.8 years old by 2040. In comparison, Japan, which previously held the top rank for the longest life expectancy in the world, is now at a close second with 85.7 years.
Completing the top 10 are Singapore (85.4 years), Switzerland (85.2 years), Portugal (84. 5 years), Italy (84.5 years), Israel (84.4 years), France (84.3 years), Luxembourg (84.1 years), and Australia (84.1 years).
The ranking is based on the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study estimates from 2016. It took into consideration the top five premature mortality determinants such as high blood pressure, high body mass index, elevated blood sugar, and alcohol and tobacco consumption.
The results were published in the journal The Lancet.
Life Expectancy Around The World
The study also found that life expectancy around the world increased an average of 4.4 years. As a whole, the global life expectancy rose from 73.8 years in 2016 to 77.7 years by 2040. China, Indonesia (from 117th to 100th), Nigeria (157th to 123rd), Portugal (23rd to 5th), Poland (48th to 34th), Turkey (40th to 26th), and Saudi Arabia (61st to 43rd) are among the countries that moved up the ranking.
China, in particular, made a huge jump from 68th on the list to 39th, boasting of a life expectancy of 81.9 years by 2040. The East Asian superpower has overtaken the United States which dropped from the 43rd spot to 64th this year, the worst decline for a high-income nation. An average American is expected to live until the age of 79.8 years old by 2040.
Canada (from 17th to 27th), Norway (from 12th to 20th), Australia (from 5th to 10th), Mexico (from 69th to 87th), Taiwan (from 35th to 42nd), and North Korea (from 125th to 153rd) also dropped in the rankings.
The future of the world's health is not pre-ordained, and there is a wide range of plausible trajectories," stated Kyle Foreman, the lead author of the study. "But whether we see significant progress or stagnation depends on how well or poorly health systems address key health drivers."
