We recently compiled a list of the 30 Cities with the Lowest Life Expectancy in the World. But in this article, we will focus on the city with the lowest life expectancy in the world and take an overview of the trends in life expectancy across the globe.

Trends in Global Life Expectancy Across the Globe

Global life expectancy has increased dramatically over the years: it stood at just 51 years in 1960, rising to around 71 years in the present decade. Data by the World Health Organization reveals that global life expectancy increased by more than six years between 2000 and 2019 before the pandemic, going from 66.8 years in 2000 to 73.1 years in 2019. Healthy life expectancy (HALE), also grew by 9%, increasing from 58.1 in 2000 to 63.5 in 2019. This increase was primarily due to a decline in mortality instead of a decrease in the number of years people lived with disability. The increase in life expectancy thus surpassed the rise in HALE, at 6.4 years and 5.3 years, respectively.

However, the COVID-19 pandemic reversed around a decade of life expectancy and HALE increase. According to the World Health Statistics 2024 report by the World Health Organization (WHO),  global life expectancy and HALE in 2020 returned to their 2016 levels at 72.5 years and 62.8 years, respectively. 2021 saw a further recession, with the two metrics returning to their 2012 levels. Global life expectancy reduced to 71.4 years, while HALE decreased to 61.9 years. The pandemic thus wiped out a decade of improvement in just two years.

The report also highlighted the unequal effects of these trends across the globe, with WHO regions for Southeast Asia and the Americas suffering the most. Life expectancy in the regions fell by around three years, with healthy life expectancy dropping by 2.5 years between 2019 and 2022. The Western Pacific Region, in contrast, remained minimally affected, experiencing a drop of less than 0.1 years in life expectancy and 0.2 years in healthy life expectancy between 2019 and 2021. You can also look at 15 Countries with the Highest Life Expectancy in Asia for more insight.

Life expectancy in the US underwent a similar decline due to the pandemic. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, life expectancy for both sexes in the country stands at 77.5 years as of 2022, with 74.8 years for males and 80.2 years for women.

Role of Healthcare and Pharmaceuticals in Managing Life Expectancy

With almost all facets of life returning to normal after the pandemic, global life expectancy is also expected to revert to its pre-pandemic levels. In fact, a study by the Global Burden of Disease forecasted an increase of 4.9 years in the global life expectancy of males and 4.2 years in that of females between 2022 and 2050. These life expectancy increases are anticipated to be the most significant in countries with low life expectancies, allowing a confluence of increasing life expectancies across the globe.

These trends are primarily driven by extensive public health measures that have improved and prevented survival rates from COVID-19, cardiovascular diseases, and several communicable, maternal, neonatal, and nutritional diseases (CMNNs). Overall, almost all countries worldwide are expected to experience an improvement in their average life expectancies, driven by upgrading healthcare and infrastructure. Increased availability of facilities and higher access to nutritional food are also pivotal factors in the domain. Prominent healthcare and pharmaceutical companies are playing their roles in bringing life expectancy back to pre-pandemic levels by introducing advanced treatments and medications to combat death and diseases. Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is a significant player in the field. Headquartered in New Jerse, this multinational pharmaceutical, medical technologies, and biotechnology corporation holds expertise in Innovative Medicine and MedTech domains and operates under several business units, including DePuy Synthes, Neutrogena Corporation, Ethicon, Janssen Pharmaceuticals, and Acclarent.

On August 2nd, DePuy Synthes, which is the Orthopaedics Company of Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ), announced the launch of VELYS™ Active Robotic-Assisted System, also known as VELYS™ SPINE. Developed in collaboration with eCential Robotics, this dual-use robotics and standalone navigation platform is one of a kind, allowing surgeons to tackle the most complex challenges with its active robotics technology. The platform will be used in planning and instrumenting spinal fusion procedures in the thoracolumbar, cervical, and sacroiliac spine. The company’s continued digital advancements in the field of surgical robotics and navigation have established it as a leader in the domain.

Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) is also seeking FDA approval for the first and only monotherapy available for adults with treatment-resistant depression: SPRAVATO®(esketamine). Results from the fourth phase of SPRAVATO® monotherapy data show quick improvement in depression symptoms, building on more than a decade of clinical trials and research. This monotherapy nasal spray will allow patients living with treatment-resistant depression, preventing them from jumping from one treatment to another that fail to curb their symptoms. The Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) MedTech unit supports technology that is applied in approximately 75 million medical procedures every year, and announced plans in March to collaborate with Nvidia (NASDAQ:NVDA) to develop new artificial intelligence applications for surgery. The companies plan to employ Artificial Intelligence within surgical platforms and devices to help surgeons from pre-op to post-op, automating and streamlining the procedures.

Now that we have taken an overview of the trends in life expectancy around the globe, let’s look at the citiy with the lowest life expectancy in the world. You can also look at 20 US Cities With the Shortest Life Expectancy and 15 Countries with the Highest Life Expectancy in Africa.

Our Methodology

To compile a list of the 30 cities with the lowest life expectancy in the world, we considered the Central Intelligence Agency’s (CIA) list of average life expectancy of countries across the globe. We shortlisted the 30 countries with the lowest life expectancy in the world, and used that as a proxy for the life expectancies of their largest cities. The 30 cities with the lowest life expectancy in the world are arranged in descending order of their average life expectancy as of 2024.

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The City with the Lowest Life Expectancy in the World

1. Kabul, Afghanistan

Average Life Expectancy as of 2024:  54.4 Years 

Kabul ranks first on our list of the 30 cities with the lowest life expectancy in the world. It is the capital and largest city of Afghanistan, a landlocked country located at the connecting point of South Asia and Central Asia. Afghanistan has been suffering from decades of war, inadequate administrative practices, and failing infrastructure, which are some of the primary reasons behind the country’s low life expectancy. Kabul is located in the eastern half of the country and forms a part of the Kabul Province as a municipality. It is divided into 22 municipal districts for administration and houses around 4.95 million people as of 2023. The city has an average life expectancy of around 54.4 years as of 2024, the lowest in the world.

If you are interested in learning about other cities with the lowest life expectancy in the world, take a look at our detailed report on 30 Cities with the Lowest Life Expectancy in the World.

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