Life expectancy for American citizens has increased, according to a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Data from 2009 was used to create the Jan. 6 National Vital Statistics Reports coverage of life expectancies in United States.
According to the report, U.S. citizens born in 2009 have a projected life expectancy of 78.5 years, an increase from the 2008 life expectancy of 78.1 years. Since 2009, the U.S. life expectancy has raised to 78.7 years.
The report also breaks down life expectancies by age, sex and race. Hispanic females have the longest life expectancies at birth with a projected 83.5 years. Non-Hispanic black males have the lowest life expectancy on the report with 70.7 years expected at birth.
Though life expectancies of Americans have improved, another report shows that citizens from other countries are living longer than people from the U.S.
According to Health at a Glance 2013 from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the 78.7 year life expectancy in the United States is lower than the average life expectancy across all OECD countries (80.1 years).
Topping the life expectancy chart for OECD countries was Switzerland with a life expectancy of 82.8 years. Mexico had the lowest life expectancy with 74.2 years.
Of the 34 countries within the OECD, the U.S. was within the bottom ten countries for life expectancy.
OECD countries include Australia; Austria; Belgium; Canada; Chile; Czech Republic; Denmark; Estonia; Finland; France; Germany; Greece; Hungary; Iceland; Ireland; Israel; Italy; Japan; Korea; Luxembourg; Mexico; Netherlands; New Zealand; Norway; Poland; Portugal; Slovak Republic; Slovenia; Spain; Sweden; Switzerland; Turkey; United Kingdom; and United States.
The report notes that increased spending per capita is usually associated with decreased mortality rates and longer life expectancies, but the U.S. does not follow that pattern.
“The United States spends much more on health per capita than all other OECD countries,” the OECD report said. “Fifty percent higher than Norway and Switzerland (the next biggest spending countries).”
Average healthcare spending across OECD counties was $3,322 per capita, while average healthcare spending in the U.S. was $8,500 per capita, as of 2011.
The report also mentioned that the U.S. had the highest obesity rates among OECD countries and did not have universal healthcare as of 2011.
