The average number of years that a person can expect to live in “full health” from birth. Japan, both sexes, 2000 - 2021.
What is the difference between life expectancy and healthy life expectancy?"Life expectancy" refers to the number of years a person can expect to live. It is an important way of assessing the health of a population and is used to inform health policy and initiatives that impact everyday life.
"Life expectancy at birth" is the average number of years that a newborn could expect to live, (the average age of death) while "Healthy life expectancy (HALE) at birth" is the average number of years that a person could expect to live in "full health" from birth. This measurement takes into account years lived in less than full health due to disease and/or injury.
* The lack of complete and reliable mortality data, especially for low income countries and particularly on mortality among adults and the elderly, necessitates the application of modelling to estimate life expectancy. This may lead to minor differences compared with official life tables prepared by Member States.
Understanding the reasons why people die helps with the understanding of how they lived, in order to improve health services and reduce preventable deaths in every country, responding effectively to changing circumstances. Annual monitoring of causes of death allows countries to address their causes and adapt health systems to react effectively.
The leading causes of death are statistical estimates based on available data. These estimates are produced using data from multiple sources, including national vital registration data, latest estimates from WHO technical programmes, United Nations partners and inter-agency groups, as well as the Global Burden of Disease and other scientific studies. Before publishing, they are reviewed by WHO Member States through consultation with national focal points and WHO country and regional offices.
The top ten causes of death are statistical estimates based on available data. Multiple years of national death registration data with high completeness and quality of cause-of-death assignment is available for Japan. These estimates may be compared among countries and used for priority setting and policy evaluation.