Overview

• The 2023 estimates put life expectancy at 76.3 years for women and 71.5 for men, with overall mortality declining across 204 countries based on about 310,000 data sources.
• Leading causes of death shifted back to noncommunicable diseases—ischemic heart disease, stroke and COPD—while COVID-19 fell to around 20th in 2023.
• Deaths increased among adolescents and young adults in North and South America, driven mainly by suicide and drug- and alcohol-related causes, with rises also noted among ages 5–19 in parts of Eastern Europe and the Caribbean.
• About half of deaths and health loss were attributable to 88 modifiable risks led by high blood pressure, fine particulate air pollution, smoking, high blood sugar, low birth weight or short gestation, high BMI and high LDL cholesterol.
• Persistent gaps remain, with much lower life expectancy and higher child mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, and the authors flag growing health impacts from air pollution and heat.