United States life expectancy lags behind high-income nations

Research conducted by Dr. Steven Woolf of Virginia Commonwealth University reveals that life expectancy in the United States has significantly lagged behind other high-income nations for decades. Analyzing data from the UN, CDC, and OECD spanning from the 1940s to 2023, the study shows that the gap began widening in the 1990s and accelerated most sharply between 2010 and 2019.

In 1980, only 13 countries with populations over one million had a higher life expectancy than the US. By 2023, the US had fallen to 38th place, surpassed by nations including Canada, Japan, Australia, Czechia, South Korea, and Taiwan. A particularly concerning trend is the high mortality rate among young people; in 2023, 60 countries had a lower risk of death before age 40 than the US, and 65 countries had higher survival rates for 15-year-olds reaching age 50.

Key drivers identified for this trend include cardiovascular disease, neurological diseases, and external causes such as drug overdoses, suicides, and homicides. Factors contributing to the decline include the opioid epidemic, easy access to firearms, and systemic healthcare issues, such as the lack of universal health insurance and high medical costs.