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The Japanese have lost the world lead in life expectancy
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
Japanese women have lost their world leadership in life expectancy for the first time in 26 years, to Hong Kong women, The Japan Times reports, citing the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
The agency published a report presenting data on average life expectancy in different countries for 2011. According to the document, the figure for Japanese women fell by 0.4 years compared to last year and was 85.9 years. Hong Kong residents, who came in first place, live an average of 86.7 years.
The Japanese Ministry of Health named the devastating earthquake and tsunami that occurred in March 2011, as well as the increased number of suicides among young Japanese women, as the reasons for the decline in women's life expectancy. According to the ministry, the suicide rate has increased by a third compared to 2010 and is 16.3 cases per 100,000 women aged 25 to 29.
Among men, Hong Kong residents also lead in terms of average life expectancy, for whom the figure was 80.5 years. In second place were the Swiss, who live to an average age of 80.2 years. The life expectancy of Icelanders, who came in third, is approaching 80 years.
Information on the life expectancy of Russians is presented on the website of the Federal State Statistics Service. According to the latest published data, in 2009 the figures for men and women were 62.8 and 74.7 years, respectively.