Life Expectancy

[Colwyn]

H, I think 102 years is the prison sentence you get for saying that you think Putin is becoming a trifle more authoritarian.

[BernieTeyze]

Uk 84
Russia 76
Turkey 78

[echogirl1]

UK 79 Russia 69 Turkey 71

[Ian]

Russia 70 - Turkey 72 - UK 84

[Colwyn]

Fifty years ago there was a clear gap between the UK (as an "advanced" or "developed" country) and Turkey (as a "underdeveloped" or "developing" country). Life expectancy was over 20 years longer in the UK.
1960 . . . . . UK = 71 years . . . .  Turkey = 50.5 yrs
Since then Turkey has made great strides and the gap is down to less than 5 years.
2011 . . . . . UK = 80.5 . . . . Turkey = 76 yrs.
So a lot of people came close to this - kevin3 hit it on the nose.


The situation in Russia is rather different. WHO doesn't provide 1960 figures; the series starts at 1960 where Russia at 68 years wasn't far behind the UK at 72. But recent figures show not much change in Russia over the last 40 years - the figure in 2011 was only 69, and it actually went down in 2012. Russia now ranks 140th in the world life expectancy tables. One of the main reasons for this is the very high male death rate with a life expectancy of only 63 years with the root cause of death frequently being alcohol (alcoholic poisoning and liver damage).


I posted a population quiz a few weeks ago which prompted the conclusion that we tend to be too pessimistic about human achievements in improving health; people live longer than many of us suppose. This is certainly true of Turkey where life expectancy has increased by 50% in 50 years. But this is not always true - as in the case of Russia.

[kevin3]

Colwyn,Colwyn, what have I won please.

Seriously though,I would have thought that Turkey,with vast areas not
suffering from air pollution,with largely organic foods,the Mediterranean diet
and a seemingly less stressful/materialistic lifestyle would have been ahead
of us.
Perhaps they are now improving at a quicker rate than the UK.

[Colwyn]

The thing to remember about life expectancy tables is that child mortality has a huge impact on the average figures. Every year in Turkey over 8,000 babies die due to "low birth weight" (in UK it is under 1,400). Another killer that takes more than in Turkey than the UK is "road traffic accidents" at 6,350 per annum and more than double that in the UK (at 3,000) despite the UK surely having a lot more vehicles. On the other hand "suicide" is much more prominent in the UK (4,650 v 1,650).


As to your prize, I would have to know your age to tell you that.

[kevin3]

I expected a catch.

[Scott and Lisa]

Turkey 67
UK 83
Russia 72

[scorcher]

Has the very necessary business of the undertaker played an important role in your forefathers Colwyn ? Or is it the time of year ?