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TOKYO - Japanese girls born last year can expect to live to an average age of 85.8 years, making them the longest-lived in the world, according to figures released by the Japanese government yesterday.
Their male compatriots fare less well, with a life expectancy of 79 years, second to Icelandic men at 79.4 years, the Health Ministry said.
Japan's women have topped the world's longevity ranks for 22 years, something researchers have attributed to their healthy diet and tight social ties, among other factors.
Improved treatment of the ageing population's three biggest killers -cancer, heart disease and stroke - has helped push life expectancy to record highs, a ministry official said.
After the Japanese, Taiwanese women are the world's second longest-lived at 84.6 years, then Spanish and Swiss women at 83.9 years, the report said.
Japanese, Swiss and Israeli men also had high life expectancies, with 79.0, 78.7 and 78.3 years respectively.
New Zealand women came in at 12th longest-lived in the study - which looked at life expectancy statistics from 40 countries - with an average age of 81.9 years.
And New Zealand men typically live to 77.9 years, placing them 9th.
The Guinness Book of World Records lists Japan's 114-year-old Yone Minagawa and 111-year-old Tomoji Tanabe, as the world's oldest person and oldest man, respectively.
But increasing life expectancy and a scarcity of babies in Japan have fuelled concern about how the world's oldest society will fund its pension requirements.
- REUTERS, NZ HERALD STAFF
