Which Country Has the Best & Worst Life Expectancy? Why? - TLDR News

Summary

This video explores global life expectancy, highlighting Japan as the leader with 84.3 years. Factors influencing life expectancy include wealth, health spending, and education. Wealth correlates with life expectancy until a plateau is reached, as described by the Preston curve. Health spending impacts life expectancy, with examples like Spain vs. the Czech Republic. Education is a strong predictor, with Vietnam outperforming Nigeria despite similar GDP per capita. The video also discusses the US's low ranking despite high wealth.

Takeaways

• 🌍 The video discusses global life expectancy using data from the December 2020 WHO report, focusing on how long a newborn is expected to live.
• 🏆 Japan leads the world in life expectancy with an average of 84.3 years, followed by Switzerland and South Korea.
• 📉 The United States ranks 40th in life expectancy despite being one of the world's wealthiest and most influential nations.
• 📊 There is a positive correlation between life expectancy and wealth, health spending, and education level, but with diminishing returns as these factors increase.
• 💼 Wealth, as measured by GDP per capita, is strongly linked to life expectancy, especially for poorer countries, but the impact lessens as countries become wealthier.
• 🏥 Public health spending is positively correlated with life expectancy, with countries like Spain having higher life expectancy than the Czech Republic despite similar GDP per capita.
• 🇺🇸 The U.S. spends nearly twice as much on healthcare as other developed countries but has a lower life expectancy, highlighting the inefficiency of its healthcare system.
• 🎓 Education is a strong predictor of life expectancy, with better-educated populations tending to live longer. Vietnam has a higher life expectancy than Nigeria despite similar GDP per capita.
• 📈 The Preston Curve illustrates the relationship between wealth and life expectancy, showing that increases in GDP per capita have a greater impact on life expectancy in poorer countries.
• 🧠 Education may improve life expectancy by raising IQ levels and cognitive abilities, leading to better life choices and healthier behaviors.
• 🌐 The video concludes by encouraging viewers to consider the factors that contribute to life expectancy and how they vary across different countries.

Q & A

What is the average global life expectancy according to the December 2020 WHO data?

The average global life expectancy is 73.3 years.

Which country has the lowest life expectancy in the world?

Lesotho has the lowest life expectancy in the world, with a child born today expected to live until the age of 50.7 years.

What are the three factors that determine a country's life expectancy?

The three factors that determine a country's life expectancy are wealth, health, and education.

How does wealth correlate with life expectancy?

There is a positive correlation between life expectancy and wealth, but this relationship weakens as countries become wealthier, due to diminishing returns on GDP per capita in terms of life expectancy.

What is the Preston Curve and how does it relate to wealth and life expectancy?

The Preston Curve is a concept that describes the relationship between wealth (GDP per capita) and life expectancy. It shows that increases in GDP per capita lead to significant increases in life expectancy for poor countries, but these gains slow as countries become wealthier.

How does public health expenditure affect life expectancy?

Public health expenditure is positively correlated with life expectancy. Higher spending typically leads to better health outcomes such as improved vaccine programs, better antibiotics, and antivirals, and better treatment for diseases like cardiovascular disease and cancer.

Why does the United States have a lower life expectancy compared to other developed countries despite its high healthcare spending?

The United States spends nearly twice as much as any other developed country on healthcare but has a lower life expectancy. This could be due to various factors not fully explored in the script, but it's noted that the U.S. has a unique health system and other social determinants of health that may contribute to this discrepancy.

How does education level correlate with life expectancy?

There is a positive correlation between life expectancy and education level. Education is actually a better predictor of life expectancy than wealth, as it can raise IQ levels and improve executive functioning and cognitive abilities, leading to better life choices.

What are some of the countries with life expectancies above 80 years?

Countries with life expectancies above 80 years include Greece, Denmark, the UK, Portugal, Germany, Ireland, New Zealand, Canada, France, and notably Japan with an average life expectancy of 84.3 years.

What is the significance of the color coding in the life expectancy map mentioned in the script?

In the life expectancy map, green countries are above the global average life expectancy of 73.3 years, while red countries are below this average.

What additional perks do patrons receive for supporting the channel as mentioned in the script?

Patrons receive perks such as an exclusive lanyard, early access to videos, exclusive live events, merch discounts, and more.

Outlines

00:00

🌍 Global Life Expectancy Overview

The video begins by acknowledging its patrons and offering an exclusive lanyard for new sign-ups. It then delves into the critical topic of life expectancy, emphasizing its importance over political and ideological debates. The data used is sourced from the December 2020 WHO report, focusing on the expected lifespan of a newborn. The video presents a global life expectancy average of 73.3 years, with countries above this figure in green and those below in red. Lesotho is highlighted as having the lowest life expectancy at 50.7 years, while countries like Nigeria, Afghanistan, Haiti, and the Republic of Congo fall between 65 and 69 years. The video also points out the surprising position of the US at 40th place, despite its wealth and influence, and invites viewers to comment on any surprising findings. The video promises to explore the reasons behind these statistics in subsequent content.

05:00

💼 Wealth and Life Expectancy

This section of the video discusses the relationship between a country's wealth, as measured by GDP per capita, and life expectancy. It references Samuel Preston's observation that increases in GDP per capita significantly raise life expectancy in poorer countries, but this effect diminishes as countries become wealthier, a phenomenon represented by the Preston curve. The video explains that while wealth can improve nutrition, medical services, and security, thereby extending life, there is a natural limit to human lifespan regardless of wealth. The US is noted as an outlier, spending nearly twice as much on healthcare as other developed countries yet having a lower life expectancy. The video suggests that while wealth is a significant factor, other variables such as public health spending and education also play crucial roles in determining life expectancy.

🏥 Public Health Expenditure and Life Expectancy

The video segment explores the correlation between public health expenditure and life expectancy, using Spain and the Czech Republic as comparative examples. Despite similar GDP per capita, Spain's higher health expenditure results in a higher life expectancy. The video explains that increased health spending leads to better vaccination programs, access to better medicines, and improved treatment for major diseases, all of which significantly impact life expectancy. However, it also notes that there are diminishing returns on life expectancy as public health spending increases beyond a certain point. The US is highlighted again for its unusually high healthcare spending relative to its life expectancy, suggesting that other factors must be considered.

🎓 Education as a Predictor of Life Expectancy

The final section of the video emphasizes the importance of education in predicting life expectancy, even more so than wealth. It argues that education not only leads to higher incomes but also improves cognitive abilities and decision-making, which can contribute to a longer life. The video contrasts Vietnam and Nigeria to illustrate this point, showing that despite a lower GDP per capita, Vietnam's investment in education results in a higher life expectancy. The video suggests that education can raise IQ levels and improve life choices, which in turn can affect life expectancy. It concludes by reiterating the three main determinants of life expectancy discussed in the video: wealth, public health spending, and education.

Keywords

💡Life Expectancy

Life expectancy refers to the average number of years a person is expected to live, based on their date of birth. In the video, life expectancy is the central theme, as it examines the factors that influence how long people live in different countries. The script uses data from the WHO to compare life expectancies globally, highlighting countries like Japan with the highest and Lesotho with the lowest.

💡GDP

Gross Domestic Product (GDP) measures the economic output of a country. The video discusses the correlation between GDP and life expectancy, suggesting that wealthier countries generally have higher life expectancies. However, the relationship weakens as countries become very wealthy, as illustrated by the 'Preston Curve'.

💡Public Health Spending

Public health spending refers to the financial resources allocated by a government to healthcare services. The video uses the example of Spain versus the Czech Republic to show how higher public health spending can lead to a higher life expectancy, despite similar GDP per capita.

💡Education

Education is the process of acquiring knowledge, skills, values, and habits. The video emphasizes education's strong correlation with life expectancy, suggesting it's a better predictor than wealth. Vietnam's higher life expectancy compared to Nigeria, despite a lower GDP per capita, is attributed to its better education system.

💡Preston Curve

The Preston Curve is a graphical representation that shows the relationship between GDP per capita and life expectancy. The video describes how this curve illustrates the point of diminishing returns for wealth and life expectancy, where increases in GDP lead to smaller gains in life expectancy as countries become wealthier.

💡Diminishing Returns

Diminishing returns occur when each additional unit of input yields a smaller increase in output. The video applies this economic concept to both wealth and public health spending, explaining that while more wealth and spending can increase life expectancy, the effect levels off after a certain point.

💡Correlation

Correlation is a statistical term that refers to a relationship between two variables. The video discusses positive correlations between life expectancy and variables like GDP, public health spending, and education, but cautions that correlation does not imply causation.

💡IQ

Intelligence Quotient (IQ) is a measure of cognitive ability. The video suggests that education can raise IQ levels, which in turn can lead to better life choices and longer life expectancy. This is one of the reasons why education is a strong predictor of life expectancy.

💡Executive Functioning

Executive functioning refers to the set of cognitive processes that are necessary for goal-directed behavior. The video mentions that education can improve executive functioning and cognitive abilities, potentially contributing to better life choices and longer life expectancy.

💡Outlier

An outlier is a data point that differs significantly from other observations. The video identifies the U.S. as an outlier in healthcare spending, spending nearly twice as much as other developed countries yet having a lower life expectancy, which prompts further investigation into the reasons behind this anomaly.

💡Causation

Causation is the relationship between cause and effect. The video script mentions the need to be cautious when interpreting correlations between factors like wealth, education, and life expectancy, as correlation does not necessarily imply causation.

Highlights

Life expectancy is a critical measure of a country's well-being.

The WHO data from December 2020 reveals the global average life expectancy is 73.3 years.

Lesotho has the lowest life expectancy at 50.7 years.

Countries with life expectancies between 65 and 69 years include South Africa and Kenya.

Japan leads the world with an average life expectancy of 84.3 years.

The US ranks 40th in life expectancy despite its wealth and influence.

Wealth, health, and education are the three main determinants of life expectancy.

The Preston Curve shows the relationship between GDP per capita and life expectancy.

Healthcare spending is positively correlated with life expectancy.

Education is a better predictor of life expectancy than wealth.

Diminishing returns occur in the relationship between wealth and life expectancy.

Public health spending leads to better vaccine programs and treatment.

The US spends nearly twice as much on healthcare as other developed countries but has a lower life expectancy.

Education can raise IQ levels, which is associated with longer life expectancy.

Literacy and education improve life choices, contributing to longer life expectancy.

The video provides a deep dive into why the US has a falling life expectancy.

Patreon supporters enable the creation of informative videos like this one.

Transcripts

[Music]

this video was made possible by patrons

like cody b

thanks cody if you sign up now you can

get an exclusive

tldr lanyard absolutely free find out

more at the end of the video

you can argue about policy ideology and

political campaigns but when it comes

down to it

there's little more important than life

expectancy so

let's take a look at the data examine

which country's citizens live the

longest and why people who die soonest

do for this video the data we're using

comes from the december 2020 who data

looking at how long a newborn child is

expected to live for

the middle of the scale 73.3 years is

the average global life expectancy

which means all green countries are

above the average and all red

are below it the country with the lowest

life expectancy in the world is lesotho

where a child born today is expected to

live until the age of

50.7 also low on the list we have the

central african republic

somalia esratini mozambique

kiribati and chad the good news is that

if you live anywhere else you can expect

to live to at least 60.

with life expectancies between 1665 we

have these countries

notably including nigeria afghanistan

haiti

and the republic of congo in the next

grouping we have people who live between

65 and 69 years

including south africa papua new guinea

kenya and ethiopia

next we have between 69 and 73.3 years

with this group containing sudan myanmar

india

egypt north korea syria and russia

above them living to between 73.3 and 76

we have countries including vietnam

bangladesh bulgaria latvia and brazil

then between 76 and 80 we find mexico

the uae

iran china poland the us turkey and peru

finally in the top group those with life

expectancies above 80

we find greece denmark the uk portugal

germany ireland new zealand canada

france and then in the top 10 norway

israel italy australia cyprus

spain and singapore third

is south korea with 83.3 years

switzerland at 83.4 and at the top

japan with an average life expectancy of

84.3

a significant lead so this is how all of

the countries compare

and before we continue i'd like you to

comment below on

any countries which surprised you where

are you from and did you expect to be

higher or lower

one particular country of note is the us

who came 40th

despite being one of the world's richest

and most influential countries

we actually did a deep dive on the u.s

life expectancy on the tltr us channel

last week

where we discussed why the u.s life

expectancy is falling

when other countries have seen a rising

life expectancy

that video is linked below so what

determines a country's life expectancy

and why are these ones so low well there

are basically three factors

wealth health and education essentially

there are strong positive correlations

between life expectancy

and all three variables more

specifically there's a positive

correlation between life expectancy

and gdp life expectancy in public health

spending

and life expectancy in a country's

average education level

a quick methodological disclaimer

because these factors usually come

together

countries with higher gdps tend to have

better educated populations

and spend more on healthcare it's hard

to isolate the impact of one individual

factor

essentially correlation doesn't imply

causation so just keep that one in mind

while watching the video

so let's start with wealth the

relationship between wealth and life

expectancy was first described by samuel

preston in 1975.

he observed that increases in gdp per

capita for poor countries

entail massive increases in life

expectancy but

gains in life expectancy quickly start

to slow once countries get a bit

wealthier

in other words there are diminishing

returns to gdp per capita

in terms of life expectancy when these

results are plotted on a graph you get

this curve which is known as the preston

curve

so let's see how this works when we look

at the map the map is the life

expectancy one we showed you earlier

and this one is gdp per capita

as you can see wealthier countries tend

to also have higher life expectancies

but this relationship breaks down

amongst the wealthiest countries

that there are diminishing returns to

gdp in terms of life expectancy makes

sense

increased wealth allows people to buy

better nutrition medical services and

security

all of which obviously improve life

expectancy

but past a certain point these things

don't help you because there's an upper

limit to how old you can get

no matter how wealthy you are yep even

jeff

so that's wealth let's talk about health

as you might expect

increases in public health expenditure

are positively correlated with increase

in life expectancy

this is why spain has a higher life

expectancy than the czech republic

despite having similar gdp per capita

spain spends about nine percent of gdp

on health care

whereas the czech republic spends about

7.5 percent

which goes some way to explain why

spain's life expectancy

is 83.2 whereas the czechs can expect to

live to 79.2

again that there are diminishing returns

on life expectancy is down to much the

same reasons as before

increases in public health spending mean

better vaccine programs better

antibiotics and antivirals

and better treatment for stuff like

cardiovascular disease and cancer

which all makes a massive difference to

life expectancy

past a certain point though there's not

much more that a public health service

can do

and again you can see this when you

compare a map of healthcare spending

against a map of life expectancy the

notable

outlier when it comes to healthcare

spending is the u.s the u.s spends

nearly twice as much as

any other developed country on

healthcare spending but had a precovered

life expectancy

of just 78.7 in 2018.

for context the uk had a life expectancy

of 81.2 in 2018

france 82.7 and spain 83.2

if you want to know more about the us's

anomalously low life expectancy

go watch our video on it all right on to

the last one

education again there's a positive

correlation between life expectancy and

education

now you might be thinking that this is

somewhat unsurprising because

well better educated people get paid

more and wealth helps you live longer

and while this is true what's

interesting is that education is

actually a better predictor of life

expectancy than wealth

according to a paper by wolfgang lutz

published in the population and

development review in 2018.

compare vietnam and nigeria for example

while nigeria's gdp per capita is around

5 000

its life expectancy is just 54 years

for context vietnam has a slightly

higher gdp per capita

of 7 000 but a far higher life

expectancy of 76

nigeria has one of the worst education

systems in the world

nigeria spends just eight percent of its

budget on education

30 percent of nigerians are illiterate

and 10 million children are out of

school

the highest number in the world vietnam

on the other hand

spends 20 percent of its budget on

education which means high primary

school completion rates

strong gender parity low student teacher

ratios

and a low out of school rate so why is

education such a good predictor of life

expectancy

well this could be for a couple of

reasons first education can raise iq

levels

with every extra year of education

translating into a one to five point

increase in iq and people with high iqs

tend to live longer

lutz speculated that literacy and

education in general

improve executive functioning and

cognitive abilities

which translate into better life choices

whatever the precise mechanism the point

is that education is actually a

surprisingly good

indicator of life expectancy so those

are the three main determinants of life

expectancy

and hopefully it goes some of the way to

explain this map and why some countries

are able to help their citizens

live much longer than others if you like

this video then we have a whole bunch of

map videos

and the playlist of them all is linked

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