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Zimbabwe’s life expectancy now at 64.7 years

ZIMBABWE’S combined life expectancy at birth for both men and women is now at 64.7 years, according to the 2022 National Population and Housing Census preliminary results on Mortality and Orphanhood rates released by the Zimbabwe National Statistical Agency (ZIMSTAT) on Tuesday.

The results show that women have a higher life expectancy at 68 years than men who have a life expectancy of 61.2 years.

Life expectancy at birth was higher in urban areas (65.5 years) than in rural areas (63.3 years).

The latest life expectancy rate is an improvement from the 2017 life expectancy rate at birth for both men and women, which was 60 years. In 2017 the life expectancy rate for women was 61 years while for men it was 58 years.

Life expectancy at birth is the average number of years a person is expected to live if current mortality conditions at each age remains constant.

Crude death rate was 8 deaths per 1000 people. The crude death rate (CDR) is the number of deaths per 1 000 people in a given year. A total of 121 078 deaths were reported in the last 12 months preceding the census.

The neonatal rate stood at 9.5 deaths per 1 000 live births at national level. The neonatal mortality rate is the probability of dying within the first month of life

The post neonatal rate was 14.7 deaths per 1 000 live births at national level. The post-neonatal mortality rate is the probability of dying between one month and 11 months, ideally the difference between infant and neonatal mortality.

ZIMSTAT said mortality and orphanhood statistics are important for a number of reasons such as informing public health policies, insurance policies as well as monitoring regional and international obligations.

“The study of mortality is useful for analysing current demographic conditions as well as for determining prospects of potential changes in mortality conditions in the future. The public health administration depends heavily on the study of mortality. Statistics on death in the population cross-classified by age, sex and the cause of death are of great value for the formulation, implementation and evaluation of public health programmes,” ZIMSTAT said.

Insurance companies use statistics on deaths to craft insurance policies, the national statistics body said. It said mortality and orphanhood statistics are also important for monitoring regional and international obligations such as the African Union’s Agenda 2063 and the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

-Suburban

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