Exceeding OECD Average
The life expectancy of South Koreans born last year is 82.7 years. The life expectancy of South Koreans has been on the increase although population has been falling in many cities and towns of the nation.
Statistics Korea announced on Dec. 3 that the life expectancy of South Koreans increased by 0.3 years compared to the previous year and by 3.5 years compared to 10 years ago.
Those of South Korean males and females born last year are 79.7 and 85.7, respectively. Compared to the previous year, those increased 0.4 years and 0.3 years, respectively. The gap between the two decreased by one-tenth of a year to six years.
The gap increased from 7.1 years to 8.5 years between 1970 and 1985. It began to decrease in the following year and reached 7.3 years in 2000 and six years in 2017.
The life expectancy of the South Korean males exceeds the OECD average by a margin of 1.7 years and that of the South Korean females exceeds the OECD average by 2.4 years. The latter is the third-highest in the OECD behind Japan’s 87.1 and Spain’s 86.3. The former, meanwhile, ranks 15th in the OECD with Switzerland on top with 81.7 years