The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) February "Rapid Release" statistics, found that the average life expectancy of an American, from birth, was 78.8 years in 2019.
Now, it’s 77.8.
The average American is expected to live one year less than what was anticipated last year. The change was undoubtedly influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed more than 490,000 U.S. residents.
Not everyone will have the same fate, however. Life expectancy changes dramatically by gender and race, according to health data.
- Overall, the life expectancy for American males is 75.1 years - a decline of 1.2 years from 2019 and about 5 years less than how long women are expected to live.
- For females, life expectancy dropped to 80.5 years, a decrease of 0.9 years over 2019.
- The situation is more dier for people of color. The average life expectancy for Black people decreased by 2.7 years - from 74 years in 2019 to 72 now.
- The average life expectancy for non-Hispanic white people went down by 0.8 years from 78.8 to 78.
For more information about life expectancy rates and trends, visit the CDC’s report online.
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