Here’s some good news for a change – life expectancy is getting better!
Jennifer Calfas, writing in The Wall Street Journal, tells us life expectancy in the U.S. reached a record high in 2024 following a substantial decline of drug-overdose deaths, according to figures released by the federal government recently.
The life expectancy at birth for the average American was 79 years old in 2024, up 0.6 year from the year prior, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics. The increase signals a rebound from declines in life expectancy during the coronavirus pandemic and progress in combating the opioid crisis.
The agency reported that deaths related to drug overdose decreased by more than 26% between 2023 and 2024, marking the largest year-to-year drop in those types of fatalities recorded by the federal government.
What are the current life expectancy rates for men and women?
How long can we reasonably expect to live? The Bible tells us people lived over 900 years at one time. Methuselah lived 969 years! But after the great flood that destroyed mankind except for the family of Noah, life expectancy sharply declined. According to Psalm 90:10, “As for the days of our life, they contain seventy years, or if due to strength, eighty years.”
Improvements in healthcare have improved these numbers slightly, but if you live to be eighty you should be thankful. Here are the latest statistics for America: The average life expectancy at birth for women and men in 2024 increased to 81.4 years and 76.5 years, respectively, the report said. While the U.S. has made progress in lengthening its life expectancy, it still lags behind peer nations. The drug-overdose epidemic and stalled progress in cardiovascular disease mortality rates have played a role in slowing the U.S.’s momentum.
U.S. life expectancy decreased by 1.8 years during the pandemic in 2020, with Covid-19 becoming the third-leading cause of death at the time.
The overall mortality rate in the U.S., adjusted for age, dropped in 2024 by nearly 4%, from 750.5 deaths per 100,000 Americans in 2023 to a rate of 722.1 deaths per 100,000 in 2024. Death rates decreased across races and ethnicities. Heart disease, cancer and unintentional injuries remained the top-three leading causes of deaths, the agency said, while Covid-19 was no longer among the top 10 causes of death. Death by suicide was the 10th-leading cause of death in 2024, the report said.
With improvements in healthcare and better understanding of what causes disease, we may see further improvements in life expectancy. But only God knows how long each individual is going to live.
