KOREAN NET

The country saw its life expectancy at birth last year rise to 83.5 years. (iclickart) *[Unauthorized reproduction and redistribution of the above photo is strictly prohibited under copyright laws and regulations.]

By Koh Hyunjeong

The average life expectancy of a baby born in the country last year was 83.5 years for both genders, up eight-tenths of a year from the figure in 2022.

In addition, the nation's figure is two years higher than that of Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) member states.

Statistics Korea on Dec. 4 announced such data in its 2023 Life Table, a report on how long each age group could live if the mortality rate by age is maintained.

By sex, average life expectancy was 80.6 years for men and 86.4 for women. The gap between both genders gradually declined from 8.6 years in 1985 to 5.9 last year.

Compared to the OECD averages of 78.4 years for men and 83.6 for women, Korean men lived 2.2 years longer and women 2.8 more.

The leading forecast causes of death in Korea for a baby born last year were cancer (19.1%), pneumonia (10%), heart ailments (10%) and cerebrovascular disease (6.9%).

hjkoh@korea.kr