WHO: global life expectancy nearly back to pre-pandemic levels

The new Global Health Estimates published by the World Health Organization indicate that in 2023 global life expectancy reached 73.3 years, a figure almost identical to the 73.4 years recorded in 2019. The data signals a substantial return to pre-pandemic levels after the years of decline linked to the spread of the coronavirus.

The news currently comes from a single source (AgenSIR, based on World Health Organization data); no independent direct confirmation of the full WHO document is currently available to this newspaper.

Alongside the data on longevity, the same Global Health Estimates show a structural change in causes of death worldwide. Non-communicable diseases — conditions such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and forms of dementia — are now responsible for 74% of global deaths recorded in 2023, compared with 58% recorded in 2000. Eight of the top ten leading causes of death in the world are, according to the same data, now non-communicable diseases.

Indicator	2000	2023
Deaths from non-communicable diseases	58%	74%
Ranking of Alzheimer’s and dementia among causes of death	19th place	5th place

A case that well illustrates this shift is that of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia, which rose from nineteenth place among causes of death in 2000 to fifth place in 2023, with the number of deaths having overall tripled over the twenty-three years covered by the report.

The picture presented by the Global Health Estimates thus describes a global demographic and epidemiological transition: the improvement in average survival is accompanied by a growing burden of chronic and degenerative conditions, which today occupy most of the top positions in the global ranking of causes of death.