What is my life expectancy in Australia?

What is life expectancy?

Life expectancy is a numerical expression of the age people born in a particular year are expected on average to live to. It’s not specific at an individual level. It’s used to describe how a population (a group of people with similar attributes) are expected to age.

Compare Life Insurance

Life Expectancy in Australia

Many Australians may ask themselves “what’s my life expectancy?” when planning for retirement. Life expectancy in Australia, according to Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) data, slightly decreased in the 2020-22 period with girls born in the period predicted to live to an average of 85.3 years and boys to live to 81.2 years. This was the first decrease since the mid 1990s. The ABS suggests this is due to an increase of almost 20,000 deaths in 2022, with roughly 10,000 of these being attributed to COVID-19.

A 65-year-old Australian woman can expect to live another 22.8 years, and a man of the same age another 20.2 years. The Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) reports that this is longer than their life expectancy was at birth. The AIHW also reports that the median age at death is 85 for women and 80 for men. While this age at death has been increasing, the maximum (oldest) age at death has shown minimal improvements over time. Deaths at extreme old ages (110 years and older) remain rare.

Which states and territories have the highest and lowest life expectancies?

Girls born in the Australian Capital Territory in 2020-2022 can expect to live the longest (86 years), compared with the other states and territories. For boys, the ACT again provides the longest life expectancy, which is 82.2 years. Those born in the Northern Territory have the lowest life expectancy, at 80.7 years for girls and 76.2 years for boys. But life expectancy in the NT has shown the largest gains in Australia over the past 30 years, up 9.1 years for men and 8.4 years for women.

Life expectancy in years by state and territory

← Mobile/tablet users, scroll sideways to view full table → 

Source: Life expectancy at birth, males & females 2020-22 (ABS)

What’s the maximum age an Australian can expect to live?

While there are more Australians living past their 100th birthday, few of them pass away at ages higher than 110, according to the AIHW’s 2023 analysis of the ABS figures. Australia’s oldest living person is believed to have passed away at age 114 in 2002. Globally, the oldest person is believed to have lived to 122. In 2021, one in 72 deaths in Australia were of people aged 100 or more (2,247 deaths). This is an increase from one in 1,214 in 1964 (83 deaths).

Life expectancy in other countries

Australia has the third-best overall life expectancy in the world, according to estimates from the United Nations’ Department of Economic and Social Affairs. The Principality of Monaco, on the Mediterranean coast of the French Riviera, ranked number one, followed by Japan. Fellow pacific country, New Zealand, ranked in 17th place. The United Kingdom and the United States don’t even make it into the top 20.

Life expectancy: top 10 countries

← Mobile/tablet users, scroll sideways to view full table → 

Source: Top 20 countries for life expectancy in the world (ABS). For all countries, see United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2022). World Population Prospects 2022, Online Edition.

There are other world rankings of life expectancy available which show Australia in a different position. For example, the AIHW notes Australia ranked fourth among 38 member countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in 2022.

How is life expectancy calculated?

The Australian Bureau of Statistics says it looks at the age of death of a group of people born in the same year, and uses this information (as well as other data) to calculate how long that group of people can expect to live. The life expectancy table depicts the mortality experience of a hypothetical group of newborn babies throughout their entire lifetime. It’s based on the assumption that this group will be subjected to the age-specific mortality rates of the reference period. Typically this hypothetical group is 100,000 persons in size.

These life expectancy tables don’t take into account future assumed improvements in mortality. For example, the tables don’t reflect what would happen if a major health event were to occur, such as another pandemic, nor improvements in healthcare, such as a cure for cancer being found.

What factors affect life expectancy?

There are many factors that could impact on your life expectancy; some of which are out of your control, like where you were born and your gender at birth. Other factors to consider include the quality of available health care, whether you smoke, drink too much alcohol, or whether you have a healthy diet and exercise enough.

In a separate study, the ABS found that in 2022, 10.6% of adults were daily smokers, that’s just over one in 10 people. This figure has fallen from 22.4% in 2001 and has decreased 3.2% since 2017-18. Despite Australia’s reputation as a place of deadly animals, the leading causes of death are all health related, including cancer, heart disease, dementia and Alzheimer’s disease.

What’s my life expectancy: how long will I live?

It’s not possible to use the ABS data and analysis to say how long any individual will live. The life expectancy figures use a number of factors and are based on a hypothetical group of 100,000 people. These figures are only a guide as to the trend in life expectancy over the years and should not be taken as an indication of your own life expectancy.

Some organisations have put together their own life expectancy calculator, such as the National Seniors’ Lifespan Calculator and QSuper’s online life expectancy calculator. Again these should only be used as a guide and not to give any accurate figure on your own life expectancy. While it may be good news that in general we’re expected to live longer in the future, the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) says it’s an issue that will affect those heading for retirement.

Can I calculate my life expectancy?

While it’s impossible to define exactly how long you will actually live, there are a few online life expectancy calculators. But keep in mind that these will give you just an estimate as there are many factors that may influence the actual outcome. Using such a calculator, like the ones listed above, may help you to plan your financial future (for example, to work out how much super you might need).

Will I need to plan for a longer retirement?

If we’re living longer that means you may need to plan for a longer retirement. It’s an issue that was highlighted in the recent Rethinking Retirement report by Australian wealth management group Colonial First State. Their research found that only one in three people retired at the time of their choosing. The remaining two-thirds retired due to health, redundancy and other factors beyond their control.

Canstar data suggests that many Australians could be likely to suffer from a shortfall in superannuation savings if they want to retire comfortably. Now may be a good time to look at your plans for any savings or investments, and your retirement plans, including any super. You can use Canstar’s Superannuation & Retirement Calculator to estimate how much super you may have when you plan to retire, as well as any anticipated gap between your estimated super balance and how much super you may need. You could also try Moneysmart’s Retirement Calculator to help project your financial status in retirement, based on your current super balance.

Cover image source: PeopleImages.com – Yuri A/Shutterstock.com