Global life expectancy has almost returned to its pre-Covid level, but recovery in the number of years people can expect to live in good health has been slower, according to the World Health Organization’s annual Global Health Estimates report released Friday. The WHO said global life expectancy reached 73.3 years in 2023, just below the 73.4 years recorded in 2019 before the pandemic. It had fallen sharply to 71.5 years in 2021 during the coronavirus crisis.

The WHO said the slower recovery in healthy life expectancy remains a concern for health systems worldwide. Healthy life expectancy stood at 62.8 years in 2023, which was 0.4 years below the 2019 level. Alain Labrique, head of the WHO’s data department, described longer lives as a major public health achievement but said the next challenge was ensuring that additional years were lived in good health while healthcare systems adapt to changing population needs.

The report also highlighted changes in disease patterns since the pandemic. Dementia deaths have tripled, while health loss linked to anxiety and depression has risen sharply. Between 2000 and 2023, the WHO Americas region recorded the largest increases in risks related to mortality and loss of healthy life, while the Western Pacific region recorded substantial declines in those measures.

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Noncommunicable diseases continued to dominate the global causes of death in 2023. Of the estimated 61 million deaths worldwide that year, the 10 leading causes accounted for 33 million, with eight of the top 10 being noncommunicable diseases. The WHO said such diseases now account for 74% of deaths globally, compared with 58% in 2000 when the Global Health Estimates series began.

Ischaemic heart disease remained the world’s leading cause of death, accounting for 16% of all deaths. Deaths from the condition increased from about 3 million in 2000 to 9.5 million in 2023, the largest rise among the leading causes. Stroke and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease ranked second and third, accounting for about 11% and 6% of global deaths respectively. Lower respiratory infections remained the leading communicable cause of death.

Covid-19 fell out of the global top 10 causes of death for the first time since the pandemic began. The disease was directly responsible for an estimated 5.3 million deaths in 2020 and 9.4 million in 2021, when it ranked first globally. In 2023, directly attributable Covid-19 deaths fell to about 900,000, placing it 14th. Meanwhile, deaths from HIV and AIDS have declined by 62% since 2020, with the disease ranking 22nd among global causes of death in 2023, compared with seventh in 2000.

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