Australian men have traditionally been number one in the world when it comes to life expectancy, but according to a new study that is set to change.
Researchers from the Imperial College in London believe that by the year 2030, Australian (and Swiss) men will have a life expectancy of 84 years of age. While this would normally see them as being the longest lived, South Korean men will surpass them, living an extra 36 days (84.1 years).
South Korea will also boast the highest life expectancy for women by 2030, living 90.8 years on average, which is significantly better than the next best nations – France at 88.6 years of age and Japan at 88.4 years of age.
Australian women can still expect to live longer than men, but they have some way to go before they start matching longevity with the top nations. The predicted life expectancy for an Australian woman by 2030 will be 87.5 years.
Researchers believe that some of the reasons behind the higher life expectancy in the future are that, by 2030, we will have better access to healthcare, increased emphasis on health and diet, and better government policies on retirement.
“As recently as the turn of the century, many researchers believed that life expectancy would never surpass 90 years,” said lead author Professor Majid Ezzat in a statement.
“Our predictions of increasing lifespans highlight our public health and healthcare successes. However, it is important that policies to support the growing older population are in place.
“In particular, we will need to both strengthen our health and social care systems and to establish alternative models of care such as technology-assisted home care.”
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