Life expectancy is improving across the world, in rich and poor countries, according to a report published yesterday.
The biggest improvements in the last 25 years have been in some poor countries – but they still lag well behind the wealthiest nations, according to the World Health Organisation report.
The world’s longest living women are in Japan, with a life expectancy of 87 – although in ten countries women can expect to live to 84 or longer.
The report names Liberia, Ethiopia, Cambodia and Rwanda as among the countries with the biggest improvements in the last 25 years. In Liberia life expectancy increased from 42 in 1990 to 62 in 2012.
The report says a boy born in 2012 in a high income country could expect to live to 76 – while in a poor country their expected lifespan would be 60.
WHO says that reductions in use of tobacco together with success in tackling problems such as heart disease and stroke are improving life expectancy in many countries.
WHO director general Dr Margaret Chan said: "An important reason why global life expectancy has improved so much is that fewer children are dying before their fifth birthday.
"But there is still a major rich-poor divide: people in high-income countries continue to have a much better chance of living longer than people in low-income countries."
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