MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Life expectancy reaches 76.4 years in Brazil

Life expectancy had fallen after the Covid-19 pandemic but is slowly growing back

A study released this week by Brazil’s Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) showed that life expectancy at birth in South America's largest country reached 76.4 years. Those born in 2023 can easily hope to live until the age of 79.7 years in the case of women while men would live until 73.1 years on average, Agencia Brasil reported. Before the Covid-19 pandemic, the overall projection stood at 76.2 years.

In 2020, life expectancy at birth fell to 74.8 years, and it declined further in 2021 to 72.8 years, a loss of 3.4 years compared to 2019. In 2022, life expectancy began to recover, reaching 75.4 years, though it remained below the 2019 level. By 2023, however, life expectancy surpassed the 2019 estimate.

According to IBGE projections for the coming decades, life expectancy is bound to rise to 77.8 years by 2030, 79.7 years by 2040, 81.3 years by 2050, 82.7 years by 2060, and 83.9 years by 2070, the IBGE report also noted.

We experienced an external shock to mortality due to the pandemic, which was evident in 2021 and 2022. However, we are now observing a return to the historical trend. We project that life expectancy at birth will continue to rise over time, and the gap between men and women will narrow, primarily due to a reduction in deaths from external causes,” explained IBGE researcher Cíntia Agostinho.

The increase in life expectancy, combined with the reduction in the fertility rate, is leading to an aging population. According to IBGE, the proportion of elderly individuals (aged 60 or over) in Brazil rose from 8.7% in 2000 to 15.6% in 2023.

By 2070, 37.8% of the country's inhabitants are expected to be elderly, more than double the number today.

The average age of the population, which was 28.3 years in 2000, has risen to 35.5 years in 2023 and is expected to reach 48.4 years by 2070.

The infant mortality rate, which was 28.1 per thousand live births in 2000, decreased to 12.4 per thousand in 2022, with 13.4 for boys and 11.4 for girls. Projections indicate that this rate will continue to decline over the coming decades, reaching 5.8 per thousand by 2070, with 6.1 for boys and 5.4 for girls.