At what age will I die?
August 3rd 2010
Life expectancy varies considerably. If you are female and living in Japan you could expect to live until the ripe old age of 86, however if you are male and living in Sierra Leone I am afraid it falls as low as 39.
Generally women outlive men but the gap is closing. In France men live to 84 and women 77, which is similar to Australia so does all that sunshine or garlic really make much difference.
Of more interest is what are our chances living in the UK. Should all the women think about learning to speak Japanese, should the men start attaching corks to their hats and assume the name Bruce.
Well the good news is that in the UK the average life expectancy for women is 81 and for men 77. Good news depending on where you live. It certainly appears to get higher the more south you live. In fact the lowest figures can be found in Glasgow 77 for women and 71 for men where as the highest figures recorded are in Kensington/Chelsea area 89 for women and 84 for men.
Average life expectancy is double what it was 200 years ago and 50% of people born today can expect to live to over 100. There is even a suggestion that the first person to live until 150 has already been born. Somehow I don't think it is me.
Of course where you live in the UK is not the main factor determining how long you live, it does appear that the advice to eat the right stuff, exercise regularly, smoke and drink in moderation still holds true.
In conclusion then we are likely to be around for a lot longer than previous generations and that means we need to plan if we are going to enjoy the longest holiday of our life.
(Sources - Office for National Statistics, BBC, World Health Organisation)