Covid cuts nearly 2 years of global life expectancy

The coronavirus pandemic has affected all components of demographic changes, including fertility, mortality and migration worldwide.

The global life expectancy at birth has fallen to 71.0 years in 2021, down from 72.8 in 2019, due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, said a report of the United Nations released on Monday.

The pandemic’s impact on life expectancy has varied across regions and countries, the report added.

In Central and Southern Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean, life expectancy at birth fell by almost three years between 2019 and 2021.

By contrast, the combined population of Australia and New Zealand gained 1.2 years due to lower mortality risks during the pandemic over health care grounds.

In some countries, the pandemic has been responsible for a significant reduction in life expectancy at birth.

For Bolivia (Plurinational State), Botswana, Lebanon, Mexico, Oman and the Russian Federation, estimates of life expectancy at birth declined by more than 4 years between 2019 and 2021.

Available evidence about the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on fertility levels remains mixed.

In low and middle-income countries, the availability and the demand for contraception, as well as reported numbers of unintended pregnancies and births, have remained relatively stable.

In high-income countries, successive waves of the pandemic may have generated short-term fluctuations in the number of pregnancies and births.

The Covid-19 pandemic severely restricted all forms of human mobility, including international migration.

The magnitude of the pandemic’s impact on migration trends is difficult to ascertain due to data limitations.