New data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics Life shows life expectancy in Australia has decreased slightly for the second year in a row.
The decrease in life expectancy is explained by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ABS says the highest number of COVID-19 deaths in Australia happened in the years 2021-2023.
Nearly 16,000 COVID-19 deaths are reported in those years in Australia, 4,100 more deaths than in the years from 2020-2022.
Life expectancy across the nation subsequently decreased by 0.1 years for men and 0.2 years for women over this period.
Australians still reportedly have a higher life expectancy than many comparable countries, like New Zealand, the United Kingdom, the United States of America, and Canada.
Women are still expected to outlive men, with ABS head of demography Beidar Cho saying the data shows a boy born today is expected to live to 81.1 and a girl to 85.1 years.
Mr Cho says a 60-year-old Australian man today can expect to live another 24.2 years, and a woman another 27.1 years.
This is longer than life expectancy at birth, as 60-year-olds have already survived the first several decades of life.
The below graph is from the ABS.
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