WORT 89.9FM Madison · US Life Expectancy Drops For Second Year In A Row

Average life expectancy for a U.S. resident is now 76.1 years, down from 77 years in 2020, and 79 years in 2019.  That’s according to the latest Vital Statistics release from the U.S. National Center for Health Statistics.  That decline – a four percent drop over three years – marks the largest drop in 100 years.  The situation is even worse if you look at non-white populations:  Native Americans, for example, now have a life expectancy of only 65.2 years – the same as it was in 1940.  The U.S. now ranks 46th out of 193 countries in total life expectancy.  How does this happen in a country with the largest economy in the world?  Michal Engelman is the Training Director of the Center for Demography of Health and Aging at the University of Wisconsin Madison.

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