Life expectancy of Malaysians declines

Babies born in 2022 are predicted to have an average life expectancy of 73.4 years, down slightly from 74.5 years for those born in 2021, according to figures released by the Department of Statistics Malaysia today.

The statistics for life expectancy in the country have been recording a drop since 2020, partly due to the excess deaths during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Based on the numbers, Malaysian women are expected to live longer than men, with a difference of 4.5 years in 2022.

Male babies born in 2020 are expected to live for an average of 72.5 years.

This is followed by 72.3 years for those born in 2021 and 71.3 years for those born in 2022, while female babies are expected to live for 77.2 years, 77 years (2021) and 75.8 years (2022), according to the department.

Males and females who reach the age of 15 this year are expected to live for another 56.9 years and 61.3 years respectively.
 
Those aged 60 in 2022 are expected to live for another 17.5 and 20.1 years, reaching the age of 77.5 and 80.1 years for males and females respectively.

Males and females aged 65 in 2022 are expected to live for another 14.2 and 16.4 years respectively. This means that the males are expected to live until the age 79.2 years and the females until 81.4.

The Chinese are expected to have the longest life expectancy, at 73.5 years for men and 79.4 years for women.

Six states are recorded as having life expectancies that exceed the national level  (73.4 years): Selangor (75.2 years), the Federal Territories of Kuala Lumpur (74.0 years), Putrajaya and Labuan (74.5 years), Sarawak (74.3 years) and Sabah (73.5 years) in 2022.