Life Expectancy

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Governance
Race and geography shape life expectancy

The 10 Americas: How Geography, Race, and Income Shape U.S. Life Expectancy

by Thomas J. Bollyky, Laura Dwyer-Lindgren, Ali H. Mokdad, Chloe Searchinger

The differences in U.S. life expectancy are so large it's as if the population lives in separate Americas instead of one

Aging
A man walks in a snow covered park in Sofia, Bulgaria, January 23, 2024. Bulgaria witnessed higher excess mortality rates during the pandemic, according to a new study of global life expectancy.

Global Life Expectancy Declines for First Time in 30 Years

by Carrie Arnold

Overall life expectancy is struggling, according to a highly anticipated update to the Global Burden of Disease study

A close-up of the hands of Charles Norman Shay, a member of the Penobscot Nation and a World War II veteran, holding a picture of his mother Florence. Photo taken in Bretteville l'Orgueilleuse, France, on May 18, 2019.
Aging

The Disturbing Details Behind a Dip in U.S. Life Expectancy 

by Mary Brophy Marcus

A deep drop among American Indian and Alaska Native peoples is linked to policy failures that predate the pandemic

An elderly demonstrator poses for the camera as he makes a V-sign during ongoing anti-government protests, in Baghdad, Iraq, December 10, 2019. He has a black-and-white checkered scarf tied on his head and a red and white sash with green accents, around his neck. He has a very long white beard and friendly eyes. REUTERS/Alaa al-MarjaniSELECT
Aging

Age Ain’t Nothing but a Number—Except When it Comes to Health

by Matt Doxey

In some parts of the world, forty is the new seventy

An entrance sign to the Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital in Dallas, Texas, on October 4, 2014. The sign says “EMERGENCY” and points to the left. In the background we can see an American flag billowing against a brilliant clear blue sky. REUTERS/Jim Young
Governance

The Future of American Democracy Depends on Improving U.S. Health

by Thomas J. Bollyky, Tara Templin, Simon Wigley

The U.S. is in the grip of two pathologies, one afflicting human health and the other the health of the political system