Tuesday, 1 May 2007

CSO: life expectancy up 20 years over 80-year period

IN THE space of 80 years, the life expectancy of men and women in this country increased by more than 20 years.

According to figures from the CSO, the average life expectancy at birth in 1925 was 57.4 years for men and 57.9 for women. The figures in 2005 were 77.1 and 81.8 respectively.

The life expectancy in this country is on a par with the European average, which is 75.8 for men and 81.9 for women.

Switzerland has one of the highest life expectancies, men reaching 78.7 years and women 83.9.

The CSO found that when men and women reached 65 years of age in 1925 in Ireland, the men could expect to live anaverage of 12.8 more years and women 13.4 years.

Meanwhile, the population of Ireland increased by 15.6% to almost 4.24 million between 1997-2006. The proportion of the population aged 25-64 increased from 48% in 1997 to 53.6% in 2006.

Ireland had the second highest increase in population between 1996 and 2006 of all European countries apart from Cyprus.

Irish Examiner

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