Japan Health Ministry: Hong Kong Women Now Most Long-Lived
Japanese women had had the world’s longest life expectancy every year since 1985, but the latest figures from Japan’s Ministry of Health put them second behind Hong Kong, where women can anticipate living to 86.7. The ministry said deaths from the country’s double disaster were a key factor in lowering its calculation of newborn girls’ expected lifespan from 86.3 years in 2010 to 85.9.
“We can’t say Japanese women’s life expectancy is on course to decline (longer term) because the East Japan Great Earthquake is seen as a one-time factor,” the ministry said.
Spanish women were third at 84.9 years, followed by French at 84.8.
Japanese men’s life expectancy also declined to 79.4 years, putting them in eighth place globally.
-AFP