How Australia compares

When looking at life expectancy in other countries, Australia compares very well. According to United Nations estimates, Australia has the joint fourth-highest life expectancy in the world (along with Switzerland) over the period 2005-10 when ranked by male life expectancy. Only Iceland, Japan and Hong Kong have higher male life expectancy than Australia.

Australia also has the joint third-highest female life expectancy. Like in most countries, female life expectancy is higher than male life expectancy in Australia. However, in countries badly affected by HIV/AIDS (including Swaziland, Mozambique and Zimbabwe), males have similar or higher life expectancy than women. It should be noted that these are estimates to facilitate international comparison, and should be used with caution as they are based on mortality rates for different years.

Life expectancy estimates (years) for selected countries, by sex, 2005-2010

Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2007), World Population Prospects: The 2006 Revision.