 |
Expectation of Life at
Birth and at Specified AgesLife expectancy at birth
represents the average number of years that a group of infants would
live if the infants were to
experience throughout life the age-specific death rates present at birth. The
life table methodology used
to calculate the life expectancies shown in this report was revised
beginning with the 1997
data year. The new method is more comparable to decennial life table
methods, provides more
accurate estimates, and provides more age detail than the previous method.
Values produced by the new
method are similar to those produced by the previous method. In 1998
life expectancy at birth
reached a record high of 76.7 years, an increase of 0.2 year contrasted with
life expectancy in 1997.
This increase continues the general upward trend in U.S. life expectancy
observed throughout the 20th century.
In 1998 life expectancy for
females was 79.5 years, a 0.1-year increase from 1997, while for
males it was 73.8 years, a
0.2-year increase. From 1900 to the late 1970’s, the sex gap in life
expectancy widened from 2.0
years to 7.8 years. Since the peak in the 1970’s, this gap has been
narrowing. The difference
in life expectancy between the sexes declined from 5.8 years in 1997 to
5.7 years in 1998.
Between 1997 and 1998 life
expectancy increased 0.2 year for the white and black
populations to record highs
of 77.3 and 71.3 years, respectively. The difference in life expectancy
between the white and black
populations was 6.0 years, the same as in 1997. The white-black
difference in life
expectancy was the smallest in 1982 at 5.7 years, but by 1989 had widened to
7.1
years.
Among the four race-sex groups
(black females, black males, white females, and white
males) white females
continued to have the highest life expectancy at birth (80.0 years), followed
by
black females (74.8 years),
white males (74.5 years), and black males (67.6 years). Record high life
expectancies were reached
for all groups. Life expectancy for black males declined every year
from 1984 to 1989 than
increased from 1990 to 1992 and 1994 to 1998 (table 3). For white females
life expectancy increased
nearly every year from 1970 to 1992, when it reached a record high of 79.8
years. In 1998 life
expectancy for white females surpassed this high by 0.2 year. Between 1988 and
1992 and between 1995 and
1998, life expectancy for black females increased. Overall the largest
gain in life expectancy
between 1980 and 1998 was for white and black males (3.8 years each),
followed by black females (2.3 years), and white females (1.9 years). Between
1997 and 1998 the
largest gain was for black
males (0.4 year), followed by white males (0.2), and white and black
females (0.1 each).
Life tables shown on the
following pages may be used to compare life expectancies at
selected ages from birth to
100 years. For example, a person who has reached 65 years may look
forward to living to an
older age, on the average, than one who has reached 50 years. On the basis of
mortality experienced in
1998, a person aged 50 years could expect to live an average of 29.8 years
for a total of 79.8 years.
A person aged 65 years could expect to live an average of 17.8 more years
for a total of 82.8 years,
and a person aged 85 years could expect to live an average of 6.3 more
years for a total of 91.3
years (tables 1 and 2).
(Extracted from the
National Vital Statistics Reports, Deaths: Final Data for 1998 Volume 48,
Number 11.
Table 1. Abridged life
table for the population, 1998
[For explanation of the
columns of the table, see United States Abridged Life Tables, 1997, National
Vital Statistics Report,
Volume 47, Number 28]
| Age
interval |
Proportion
dying |
Of
100,000 born alive |
Stationary
population |
Average
remaining
lifetime
|
|
Period of
life
between
two
exact
ages
stated in
years
(1)
|
Proportion
of
persons
alive at
beginning
of
age
interval
dying
during
interval
(2)
|
Number
living
at
beginning of
age
interval
(3)
|
Number
dying
during
age
interval
(4)
|
In the
age
interval
(5)
|
In this
and all
subsequent
age
intervals
(6)
|
Average
number of
years of
life
remaining
at|
beginning
of
age
interval
(7)
|
| x to x + n |
nqx |
lx |
ndx |
nLx |
Tx |
ex |
| 0-1 |
0.00721 |
100,000 |
721 |
99,370 |
7,671,400 |
76.7 |
| 1-5 |
0.00139 |
99,279 |
138 |
396,786 |
7,572,030 |
76.3 |
| 5-10 |
0.00089 |
99,141 |
88 |
495,057 |
6,679,771 |
72.4 |
| 10-15 |
0.00110 |
99,053 |
109 |
495,057 |
6,679,771 |
67.4 |
| 15-20 |
0.00353 |
98,944 |
349 |
493,926 |
6,184,7114 |
62.5 |
| 20-25 |
0.00353 |
98,944 |
349 |
493,926 |
6,184,714 |
62.5 |
| 25-30 |
0.00487 |
98,126 |
478 |
489,450 |
5,198,968 |
53.0 |
| 30-35 |
0.00600 |
97,648 |
586 |
486,840 |
4,709,518 |
48.2 |
| 35-40 |
0.00819 |
97,062 |
795 |
483,428 |
4,222,678 |
43.5 |
| 40-45 |
0.01176 |
96,267 |
1,132 |
478,670 |
3,739,250 |
38.8 |
| 45-50 |
0.01728 |
95,135 |
1,644 |
471,811 |
3,260,580 |
34.3 |
| 50-55 |
0.02564 |
93,491 |
2,397 |
461,839 |
2,788,769 |
29.8 |
| 55-60 |
0.04009 |
91,094 |
3,652 |
446,966 |
2,326,930 |
25.5 |
| 60-65 |
0.06302 |
87,442 |
5,511 |
424,280 |
1,879,964 |
21.5 |
| 65-70 |
0.09437 |
81,931 |
7,732 |
391,364 |
1,455,684 |
17.8 |
| 70-75 |
0.14239 |
74,199 |
10,565 |
345,660 |
1,064,320 |
14.3 |
| 75-80 |
0.20604 |
63,634 |
13,111 |
286,484 |
718,660 |
11.3 |
| 80-85 |
0.31641 |
50,523 |
15,986 |
213,526 |
432,176 |
8.6 |
| 85-90 |
0.46104 |
34,537 |
15,923 |
131,897 |
218,650 |
6.3 |
| 90-95 |
0.61502 |
18,614 |
11,448 |
62,020 |
86,753 |
4.7 |
| 95-100 |
0.75426 |
7,166 |
5,405 |
20,150 |
24,733 |
3.5 |
| 100 and over |
1.00000 |
1,761 |
1,761 |
4,583 |
4,583 |
2.6 |
(Table extracted from
National Vital Statistics Report, Deaths: Final Data for 1998 Volume 48, Number
11)
Table 2. Comparison of
life expectancies by age, race, and sex: United States, 2000
| |
All races* |
White |
Black |
|
Exact age
in years
|
Both
sexes |
Male |
Female |
Both
sexes |
Male |
Female |
Both
sexes |
Male |
Female |
| 0 |
77.0 |
74.3 |
79.7 |
77.6 |
74.9 |
80.1 |
71.9 |
68.3 |
75.2 |
| 1 |
76.6 |
73.8 |
79.2 |
77.0 |
74.3 |
79.6 |
71.9 |
68.4 |
75.2 |
| 5 |
72.7 |
69.9 |
75.3 |
73.1 |
70.4 |
75.6 |
68.1 |
64.5 |
71.3 |
| 10 |
67.7 |
65.0 |
70.3 |
68.1 |
65.5 |
70.7 |
63.1 |
59.6 |
66.4 |
| 15 |
62.8 |
60.1 |
65.4 |
63.2 |
60.6 |
65.7 |
58.2 |
54.7 |
61.4 |
| 20 |
58.0 |
55.3 |
60.5 |
58.4 |
55.8 |
60.9 |
53.5 |
50.0 |
56.6 |
| 25 |
53.2 |
50.7 |
55.6 |
53.6 |
51.2 |
56.0 |
48.9 |
45.6 |
51.8 |
| 30 |
48.5 |
46.0 |
50.8 |
48.9 |
46.4 |
51.1 |
44.2 |
41.1 |
47.0 |
| 35 |
43.7 |
41.3 |
46.0 |
44.1 |
41.7 |
46.3 |
39.7 |
36.7 |
42.3 |
| 40 |
39.1 |
36.7 |
41.2 |
39.4 |
37.1 |
41.5 |
35.2 |
32.3 |
37.8 |
| 45 |
34.5 |
32.3 |
36.5 |
34.8 |
32.6 |
36.8 |
30.9 |
28.1 |
33.4 |
| 50 |
30.1 |
27.9 |
32.0 |
30.3 |
28.2 |
32.2 |
26.9 |
24.2 |
29.1 |
| 55 |
25.8 |
23.8 |
27.5 |
26.0 |
24.0 |
27.7 |
23.1 |
20.6 |
25.1 |
| 60 |
21.7 |
19.9 |
23.3 |
21.8 |
20.0 |
23.4 |
19.5 |
17.3 |
21.2 |
| 65 |
18.0 |
16.2 |
19.3 |
18.0 |
16.3 |
19.4 |
16.2 |
14.2 |
17.7 |
| 70 |
14.5 |
13.0 |
15.7 |
14.5 |
13.0 |
15.7 |
13.3 |
11.5 |
14.5 |
| 75 |
11.4 |
10.1 |
12.3 |
11.4 |
10.1 |
12.3 |
10.7 |
9.2 |
11.6 |
| 80 |
8.7 |
7.6 |
9.3 |
8.6 |
7.5 |
9.2 |
8.5 |
7.3 |
9.1 |
| 85 |
6.4 |
5.6 |
6.8 |
6.3 |
5.5 |
6.7 |
6.6 |
5.7 |
6.9 |
| 90 |
4.7 |
4.1 |
5.0 |
4.6 |
4.0 |
4.8 |
5.0 |
4.4 |
5.2 |
| 95 |
3.5 |
3.1 |
3.7 |
3.3 |
2.9 |
3.4 |
3.9 |
3.5 |
3.9 |
| 100 |
2.7 |
2.4 |
2.8 |
2.4 |
2.2 |
2.5 |
3.0 |
2.8 |
3.0 |
*Includes races other than
white and black
(Table extracted from
National Vital Statistics Report, The Effect of Revised Populations on Mortality
Statistics for the
United States, 2000, Volume
51, Number 9)
Table 3. Life expectancy
at birth by race and sex: United States, 1940, 1950, 1960, 1970 and 1975-98
| |
All races* |
White |
Black |
| Year |
Both
sexes |
Male
|
Female |
Both
sexes
|
Male |
Female |
Both
sexes |
Male
|
Female |
| 1998 |
76.7 |
73.8 |
79.5 |
77.3 |
74.5 |
80.0 |
71.3 |
67.6 |
74.8 |
| 1997 |
76.5 |
73.6 |
79.4 |
77.1 |
74.3 |
79.9 |
71.1 |
67.2 |
74.7 |
| 1996 |
76.1 |
73.1 |
79.1 |
76.8 |
73.9 |
79.7 |
70.2 |
66.1 |
74.2 |
| 1995 |
75.8 |
72.5 |
78.9 |
76.5 |
73.4 |
79.6 |
69.6 |
65.2 |
73.9 |
| 1994 |
75.7 |
72.4 |
79.0 |
76.5 |
73.3 |
79.6 |
69.5 |
64.9 |
73.9 |
| 1993 |
75.5 |
72.2 |
78.8 |
76.3 |
73.1 |
79.5 |
69.2 |
64.6 |
73.7 |
| 1992 |
75.8 |
72.3 |
79.1 |
76.5 |
73.2 |
79.8 |
69.6 |
65.0 |
73.9 |
|
1991 |
75.5 |
72.0 |
78.9 |
76.3 |
72.9 |
79.6 |
69.3 |
64.6 |
73.8 |
| 1990 |
75.4 |
71.8 |
78.8 |
76.1 |
72.7 |
79.4 |
69.1 |
64.5 |
73.6 |
| 1989 |
75.1 |
71.7 |
78.5 |
75.9 |
72.5 |
79.2 |
68.8 |
64.3 |
73.3 |
| 1988 |
74.9 |
71.4 |
78.3 |
75.6 |
72.2 |
78.9 |
68.9 |
64.4 |
73.2 |
| 1987 |
74.9 |
71.4 |
78.3 |
75.6 |
72.1 |
78.9 |
69.1 |
64.7 |
73.4 |
| 1986 |
74.7 |
71.2 |
78.2 |
75.4 |
71.9 |
78.8 |
69.1 |
64.8 |
73.4 |
| 1985 |
74.7 |
71.1 |
78.2 |
75.3 |
71.8 |
78.7 |
69.3 |
65.0 |
73.4 |
| 1984 |
74.7 |
71.1 |
78.2 |
75.3 |
71.8 |
78.7 |
69.5 |
65.3 |
73.6 |
| 1983 |
74.6 |
71.0 |
78.1 |
75.2 |
71.6 |
78.7 |
69.4 |
65.2 |
73.5 |
| 1982 |
74.5 |
70.8 |
78.1 |
75.1 |
71.5 |
78.7 |
69.4 |
65.1 |
73.6 |
| 1981 |
74.1 |
70.4 |
77.8 |
74.8 |
71.1 |
78.4 |
68.9 |
64.5 |
73.2 |
| 1980 |
73.7 |
70.0 |
77.4 |
74.4 |
70.7 |
78.1 |
68.1 |
63.8 |
72.5 |
| 1979 |
73.9 |
70.0 |
77.8 |
74.6 |
70.8 |
78.4 |
68.5 |
64.0 |
72.9 |
| 1978 |
73.5 |
69.6 |
77.3 |
74.1 |
70.4 |
78.0 |
68.1 |
63.7 |
72.4 |
| 1977 |
73.3 |
69.5 |
77.2 |
74.0 |
70.2 |
77.9 |
67.7 |
63.4 |
72.0 |
| 1976 |
72.9 |
69.1 |
76.8 |
73.6 |
69.9 |
77.5 |
67.2 |
62.9 |
71.6 |
| 1975 |
72.6 |
68.8 |
76.6 |
73.4 |
69.5 |
77.3 |
66.8 |
62.4 |
71.3 |
| 1970 |
70.8 |
67.1 |
74.7 |
71.7 |
68.0 |
75.6 |
64.1 |
60.0 |
68.3 |
| 1960 |
69.7 |
66.6 |
73.1 |
70.6 |
67.4 |
74.1 |
---- |
---- |
---- |
| 1950 |
68.2 |
65.6 |
71.1 |
69.1 |
66.5 |
72.2 |
---- |
---- |
---- |
| 1940 |
62.9 |
60.8 |
65.2 |
64.2 |
62.1 |
66.6 |
---- |
---- |
---- |
*Includes races other than
white and black ---Data not available
(Table extracted from
National Vital Statistics Report, Deaths: Final Data for 1998 Volume 48, Number
11)
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