COVID-19 reduces life expectancy in South Africa by more than three years

Life expectancy in South Africa has declined for the first time in almost two decades due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Statistics South Africa says the pandemic has reduced the country’s life expectancy in men to 59.3 years and to 64.6 years in women.

Prior to the pandemic life expectancy in the country was 62.4 years for men and 68.4 years for women.

The HIV/AIDS epidemic was the last time South Africa experienced a decline in life expectancy.

South Africa experienced both peaks of deaths in the first and second waves of the COVID-19 pandemic within the 2021 Mid-year Population Estimates (MYPE) period between July 2020 and June 2021.

Stats SA said this resulted in a significant increase in the crude death rate (CDR) from 8.7 deaths per 1000 people in 2020 to 11.6 deaths per 1000 people in 2021.

“The significant rise in deaths in 2021 (approximately 34%), meant a drop in the 2021 Life expectancy (LE) at birth for South Africa,” it said.

Stats SA says the life expectancy at birth indicator is an important health indicator, it should not be interpreted as a projection of an individual’s lifespan, but should rather be used to shed light on the cumulative burden of a crisis compared to recent trends.

The report says the country could see the life expectancy rate improve with increased vaccination rates, mask-wearing and other anti-COVID-19 measures.- AFRICA CGTN