WHO Publishes Longest Living List and Japanese Women Again Top It With 86 Year Life Expectancy

The longest living people in the world are once again Japanese women with a life expectancy of 86 years. The longest living male population can be found in the tiny European republic of San Marino at 80 years. These figures come from the World Health Organization and were reported in the Washington Post. As a point of reference, men in the United States have a 75 year life expectancy; U.S. women 80 years.

Following San Marino on the male side were Australia, Iceland, Japan, Sweden and Switzerland at 79 years and then Canada, Israel, Italy, Monaco and Singapore at 78. France was tied for 12th place at 77 years with a group of countries including New Zealand and Britain. Germany was at 76 years. Cuba was among the countries that tied the United States for 33rd place at 75 years.

Member states with long-living women include Monaco, 85 years, and Andorra, Australia, France, Italy, San Marino, Spain and Switzerland at 84. Canada tied Iceland and Sweden at 83 years for women, and Germany was in a group at 82 years. Britain came in at 81 years. Costa Rica and Denmark tied the United States for 32nd place at 80 years.

At the other end of the spectrum, Sierra Leone registered the shortest male life expectancy at 37 years and Swaziland was at the bottom of the female list, also with 37 years.

For an explanation on longevity and life expectancy please read the LifeTwo post How long will you live? Longevity and Life Expectancy Demystified and for all of our posts on "longevity" click on the longevity tag below.