The average life expectancy and birth rate in the country have declined in a span of a year. Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS) revealed this on Sunday in a report titled ‘Bangladesh Sample Vital Statistics-2023’. According to the BBS report, life expectancy at birth in 2023 has decreased statistically, to 72.3 years, which was 72.4 years in 2022. On the other hand, the population growth rate has decreased in a span of a year. The general growth rate of the population in 2023 is 1.33 percent which was 1.40 percent in 2022. 'Joyee 360': IPDC launches sub-branch in Dhaka’s Mirpur for women entrepreneurs The BBS survey revealed that among the top ten causes of death, the first cause of death is cardiac arrest at 1.027 percent and the second cause at 0.64 percent was cerebral brain hemorrhage. The average age at first marriage for men is 24.2 years and for women 18.4 years. In terms of internal migration, the rural arrival rate is 20.4 and the urban arrival rate is 43.4 per thousand population. In addition, the number of young populations not in education, work or training decreased to 39.88 percent in 2023 compared to 40.67 percent in 2022. The mobile phone user population aged 5 plus increased to 59.9 percent in 2023. However, for 15plus-year-olds, the rate has slightly increased to 74.2 percent compared to 73.8 percent in 2022. 50.1% of Internet users aged 15 plus in 2023. The sex ratio is slightly downward in 2023 standing at 96.37 percent, and the dependency ratio is 53.73 percent. The population density is 1,179 persons per square kilometer. The gross birth rate per thousand population was 19.4 in 2023, which was 19.8 in 2022. At that time (2023), the obesity mortality rate per thousand population was 6.1, which was 5.8 in 2022. The under-five mortality rate is 33 per thousand and the maternal mortality ratio is 136 per 100,000 live births, compared to 153 in 2022. Bangladesh among 30 countries with the highest purchasing power parity in the world The number of birth control users in 2023 decreased slightly to 62.1 percent in 2023 compared to 63.3 percent in 2022. Unmet demand for birth control decreased to 15.57 percent in 2023 compared to 16.62 percent in 2022. Household size remained unchanged in 2023 as in 2022 at 4.2. However, the rate of female household heads increased in 2023 compared to 2022. It was 17.4 percent in 2022, which increased to 18.9 percent in 2023. On the other hand, male household head was 82.6 percent in 2022, the rate decreased to 81.17 percent in 2023.

Particulate air pollution remains the greatest external risk to human health, but most of its impact on global life expectancy is concentrated in just six countries, with Bangladesh being one of the most polluted in the world. As global pollution edged upward in 2021, so did its burden on human health, according to new data from the Air Quality Life Index (AQLI). If the world were to permanently reduce fine particulate pollution (PM2.5) to meet the World Health Organization’s (WHO) guideline, the average person would add 2.3 years onto their life expectancy—or a combined 17.8 billion life-years saved worldwide. This data makes clear that particulate pollution remains the world’s greatest external risk to human health, with the impact on life expectancy comparable to that of smoking, more than 3 times that of alcohol use and unsafe water, and more than 5 times that of transport injuries like car crashes. Yet, the pollution challenge worldwide is vastly unequal. Read: Urgent, coordinated actions needed to curb air pollution in South Asia: World Bank In no other location on the planet is the deadly impact of pollution more visible than in South Asia, home to the four most polluted countries in the world and nearly a quarter of the global population. In Bangladesh, India, Nepal and Pakistan, the AQLI data reveal that residents are expected to lose about 5 years off their lives on average if the current high levels of pollution persist. “Three-quarters of air pollution’s impact on global life expectancy occurs in just six countries, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, China, Nigeria and Indonesia, where people lose one to more than six years off their lives because of the air they breathe,” said Michael Greenstone, the Milton Friedman Distinguished Service Professor in Economics and creator of the AQLI along with colleagues at the Energy Policy Institute in University of Chicago (EPIC). For the last five years, the AQLI’s local information on air quality and its health consequences has generated substantial media and political coverage, but there is an opportunity to complement this annual information with more frequent—for example, daily—and locally generated data. Read: Dhaka’s air pollution: HC asks what steps have been taken Indeed, many polluted countries lack basic air pollution infrastructure. Asia and Africa are the two most poignant examples. They contribute 92.7 percent of life-years lost due to pollution. Yet, just 6.8 and 3.7 percent of governments in Asia and Africa, respectively, provide their citizens with fully open air quality data. Furthermore, just 35.6 and 4.9 percent of countries in Asia and Africa, respectively, have air quality standards—the most basic building block for policies. The collective current investments in global air quality infrastructure also do not match where air pollution is having its greatest toll on human life. While there is a large global fund for HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis that annually disburses USD 4 billion towards the issues, there is no equivalent set of coordinated resources for air pollution. Read: Air pollution 2nd biggest cause of deaths in Bangladesh in 2019, cost about 3.9-4.4% of GDP: World Bank In fact, the entire continent of Africa receives under USD 300,000 in philanthropic funds towards air pollution (i.e. the current average price of a single-family home in the United States). Only USD 1.4 million goes to Asia, outside of China and India. Europe, the United States, and Canada, meanwhile, receive USD 34 million, according to the Clean Air Fund. “Timely, reliable, open air quality data in particular can be the backbone of civil society and government’s clean air efforts—providing the information that people and governments lack and that allows for more informed policy decisions,” said Christa Hasenkopf, the director of AQLI and air quality programs at EPIC. “Fortunately, we see an immense opportunity to play a role in reversing this by better targeting—and increasing—our funding dollars to collaboratively build the infrastructure that is missing today,” she added. Read: Effects of Air Pollution on Unborn Children, Neonates, Infants China Although the challenge of reducing air pollution across the world may seem daunting, China has had remarkable success, reducing pollution by 42.3 percent since 2013, the year before the country began a “war against pollution.” Due to these improvements, the average Chinese citizen can expect to live 2.2 years longer, provided the reductions are sustained. However, the pollution in China is still six times higher than the WHO guideline, taking 2.5 years off life expectancy. Southeast Asia Like South Asia, almost all of Southeast Asia (99.9 percent) is now considered to have unsafe levels of pollution, with pollution increasing in a single year by as much as 25 percent in some regions. Residents living in the most polluted parts of Southeast Asia are expected to lose 2 to 3 years of life expectancy on average. Central and West Africa While Asian countries rightly receive the most media coverage about extreme levels of air pollution, the African countries of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Republic of Congo are amongst the ten most polluted countries in the world. In the most polluted areas of these regions, pollution levels are 12 times the WHO guideline and taking as much as 5.4 years off lives—becoming as much of a health threat as well-known killers in the region like HIV/AIDS and malaria. Read: UN report: Climate pollution reductions 'highly inadequate' Latin America While average air quality is at an unsafe but relatively low level across the region, the most polluted areas—located within Guatemala, Bolivia, and Peru—experience air quality similar to pollution hotspots like Pune in India and Harbin in China. In these regions, the average resident would gain 3 to 4.4 years of life expectancy if their air quality met the WHO guideline. United States In the United States, Americans are exposed to 64.9 percent less particulate pollution than in 1970—prior to the passage of the Clean Air Act—and they’re living 1.4 years longer because of it. Yet, 96 percent of the country still doesn’t meet the WHO’s new guideline of 5 µg/m³. This year, the EPA proposed to lower the national standard from 12 μg/m³ to 9-10 µg/m³, gaining 3.2 million total life years if the upper limit of that proposed standard were met. In 2021, 20 out of the top 30 most polluted counties were in California due to the impact of wildfires. Europe In Europe, residents are exposed to about 23.5 percent less pollution than they were in 1998, soon after the Air Quality Framework Directive started, gaining 4.5 months of life expectancy because of it. Yet, 98.4 percent of Europe still doesn’t meet the WHO’s new guideline. In 2022, the EU proposed ratcheting down their standard of 25 µg/m³ to 10 µg/m³ by 2030, gaining 80.3 million total life years if the proposed standard were met. Residents in eastern Europe are living 7.2 months less than their western neighbors due to dirtier air. Read more: 9-point directive on air pollution: HC asks DoE to submit report within 2 weeks

Life expectancy for Australians has increased to a record high during the COVID-19 pandemic. In a study published on Monday, researchers from Australian National University (ANU) found that life expectancy for both Australian males and females increased by 0.7 years between 2019 and the first year of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. The increase far outstripped the average growth of between 0.09 and 0.14 years recorded in Australia between 2015 and 2019, according to the Canberra Times. By comparison, life expectancy in the United States fell by 1.7 years for women and 2.2 years for men in 2020. Read: US life expectancy in 2020 saw biggest drop since WWII Vladimir Canudas-Romo, co-author of the study from ANU's School of Demography, said the significant difference could be attributed to Australia's quick response to the pandemic. "Australia was in a unique position to be able to close borders to the rest of the world. Now with the strong compliance on vaccinations, we are likely to be one of the safest places in the world," he was quoted by the Canberra Times. The ANU researchers found that COVID-19 containment measures introduced in 2020 caused a "sharp decline in the spread of other infectious diseases," with deaths from pneumonia and influenza falling 20 percent. A sharp decline in social mobility due to lockdowns and travel restrictions also caused a significant decline in the number of road deaths. Read: Chinese elderly getting 'younger' as life expectancy increases "Coronavirus was among the few causes of death that really increased from 2019 to 2020 ... in the case of the United States there was an extreme case of COVID strongly declining life expectancy," Canudas-Romo said. "In Australia even when mortality increased due to COVID, we still had so much decline in infectious diseases, accidents, heart attacks and strokes, that our life expectancy increased by three-quarters of a year," he said.

In all countries of the world, there are more women than men. And women also live longer (at least 5-6 years) than men. Experts have spent decades trying to figure out why this difference exists. According to WorldData.info, The average life expectancy of women is about 71 years and 1 month and the average life expectancy of men is about 70 years and 6 months. So, this article will focus on why do women live longer than men? Reasons Why Females Live Longer Than Males Fetal reasons Scientists have found that women live longer than men because of fetal factors. According to experts, male fetuses (XY) die at a higher rate than female fetuses (XX). The X chromosomes of females are identified as XX. And the male chromosome is shown as XY. These chromosomes play a unique role in gene retention. Studies have shown that women's X chromosomes contain large amounts of genes, which is more than 1,000 that help them survive. Since there is more than one X chromosome in women if one chromosome has a genetic problem the other one can continue to function. On the other hand, in the case of men, it is not possible. Because men have only one X chromosome and there is no chance of getting support if there are any significant issues with the X chromosome. Moreover, the X chromosome in women helps in the regeneration of long-lived telomeres cells in the inner part of the chromosome of women which makes them live longer. Read Covid-Safe Wedding: How to Plan Your Big Day Safely during Pandemic? In short, a female fetus is born as soon as it matures from the womb, which gives it a long life. On the other hand, it takes time for a male fetus to reach maturity, which continues after birth. This can be said to be one of the reasons for shortening the lifespan of a man. Hormonal factors Another reason for the increase or decrease in life expectancy in men and women is a type of hormone called testosterone. Researchers claim that the testosterone hormone is a special hormone that stimulates males to do high-risk work such as fighting, speedy driving, etc. Sometimes it may also turn a man into suicide. Therefore, men are more likely to die in risky jobs. Moreover, male sex hormones can lower their immune function and increase the risk of various cardiovascular diseases. On the other hand, the estrogen hormones in women protect them. This is because it acts as an antioxidant in the female body, increasing the activity of enzymes. Moreover, estrogen is always trying to keep the normal functioning of the cell and keep it healthy. Further, estrogen eliminates harmful cholesterol from the body of women and even prevents heart disease. This naturally gives women a chance to live longer than men. Read Effects of Passive Smoking on Children’s Health After childbirth, women produce a hormone called thyroxine. It boosts their immune system. As a result, women tend to have fewer diseases than men. Human Genome Recent researchers claim that women contribute to reproduction and that this contributes greatly to the human genome, which contributes to women's longevity. Moreover, women live a less risky (such as drug or alcohol) lifestyle. Even strong social bonds are formed between them. Again, women are relatively health conscious so their life span is comparatively longer. Usually, they take more precautionary measures than men. This is also a mystery of longevity.

Air pollution is reducing the life expectancy of the residents of Dhaka, one the most polluted cities in the world, by 7.7 years, says a new study. The residents of Dhaka could live 7.7 years longer while the average life expectancy in Bangladesh would have been 5.6 years higher if pollution concentrations could have been complied with the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline, said an analysis of data from the Air Quality Life Index, conducted by the Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago (EPIC). The study finds that particulate pollution cuts global life expectancy by nearly 2.2 years. Bangladesh, known as one of the most densely-populated countries in the world, has been struggling with air pollution for a long time. In many cases, Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, is often found to be the most polluted city in the world in global indices. Particulate matter pollution continues to rise in Bangladesh. Since 1998, the average annual particulate pollution has increased by 15.3 percent, cutting 0.9 years off the lives of the average Bangladesh residents over the years, it said. In each of the 64 districts, the levels of particulate matter were found to be at least three times higher than the WHO guidelines. The most polluted areas of the country are Rajshahi and Khulna divisions as the average residents are exposed to pollution that is more than seven times of the WHO guidelines, reducing life expectancy by more than six years, it added.  

U.S. life expectancy fell by a year and a half in 2020, the largest one-year decline since World War II, public health officials said Wednesday. The decrease for both Black Americans and Hispanic Americans was even worse: three years. The drop spelled out by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is due mainly to the COVID-19 pandemic, which health officials said is responsible for close to 74% of the overall life expectancy decline. More than 3.3 million Americans died last year, far more than any other year in U.S. history, with COVID-19 accounting for about 11% of those deaths. Black life expectancy has not fallen so much in one year since the mid-1930s, during the Great Depression. Health officials have not tracked Hispanic life expectancy for nearly as long, but the 2020 decline was the largest recorded one-year drop. Also read: US life expectancy drops a year in pandemic, most since WWII The abrupt fall is “basically catastrophic,” said Mark Hayward, a University of Texas sociology professor who studies changes in U.S. mortality. Killers other than COVID-19 played a role. Drug overdoses pushed life expectancy down, particularly for whites. And rising homicides were a small but significant reason for the decline for Black Americans, said Elizabeth Arias, the report’s lead author. Other problems affected Black and Hispanic people, including lack of access to quality health care, more crowded living conditions, and a greater share of the population in lower-paying jobs that required them to keep working when the pandemic was at its worst, experts said. Life expectancy is an estimate of the average number of years a baby born in a given year might expect to live. It’s an important statistical snapshot of a country’s health that can be influenced both by sustained trends such as obesity as well as more temporary threats like pandemics or war that might not endanger those newborns in their lifetimes. For decades, U.S. life expectancy was on the upswing. But that trend stalled in 2015, for several years, before hitting 78 years, 10 months in 2019. Last year, the CDC said, it dropped to about 77 years, 4 months. Also read: Chinese elderly getting 'younger' as life expectancy increases Other findings in the new CDC report: —Hispanic Americans have longer life expectancy than white or Black Americans, but had the largest decline in 2020. The three-year drop was the largest since the CDC started tracking Hispanic life expectancy 15 years ago. —Black life expectancy dropped nearly three years, to 71 years, 10 months. It has not been that low since 2000. —White life expectancy fell by roughly 14 months to about 77 years, 7 months. That was the lowest the lowest life expectancy for that population since 2002. —COVID-19′s role varied by race and ethnicity. The coronavirus was responsible for 90% of the decline in life expectancy among Hispanics, 68% among white people and 59% among Black Americans. —Life expectancy fell nearly two years for men, but about one year for women, widening a longstanding gap. The CDC estimated life expectancy of 74 years, 6 months for boys vs. 80 years, 2 months for girls. More than 80% of last year’s COVID deaths were people 65 and older, CDC data shows. That actually diminished the pandemic’s toll on life expectancy at birth, which is swayed more by deaths of younger adults and children than those among seniors. That’s why last year’s decline was just half as much as the three-year drop between 1942 and 1943, when young soldiers were dying in World War II. And it was just a fraction of the drop between 1917 and 1918, when World War I and a Spanish flu pandemic devastated younger generations. Life expectancy bounced back after those drops, and experts believe it will this time, too. But some said it could take years. Too many people have already died from COVID-19 this year, while variants of the coronavirus are spreading among unvaccinated Americans — many of them younger adults, some experts said. “We can’t. In 2021, we can’t get back to pre-pandemic” life expectancy, said Noreen Goldman, a Princeton University researcher.

The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said on Thursday said that more than 371,500 children would be born on the first day of 2021.

Though China's Law on the Protection of the Rights and Interests of the Elderly states that "elderly people are citizens over 60 years old," the elderly are getting "younger" in the eyes of many due to a higher national life expectancy, reports Xinhua.