Life expectancy, or the number of years a person can expect to live, has improved over the past years, but some cities in India have witnessed a steep decline in life expectancy. This is primarily attributed to microscopic air pollution of 2.5 microns or less, which are caused mostly by burning fossil fuels. According to a report on Air Quality Life from the University of Chicago's Energy Policy Institute, across South Asia, including India, the average person would live five years longer if the levels of fine particulate matter in the air met the World Health Organization (WHO) standards. Life expectancy is Delhi has declined by 10.7 years, which is almost double compared to the rest of India. Here's a look at five countries that have the highest and lowest life expectancy in the world. Data is as per World Bank's 2020 life expectancy statistics and Worldometer's 2022 life expectancy data. As per WHO estimates, the global life expectancy at birth had increased from 66.8 years in 2000 to 73.3 years in 2019. (Image: Reuters)
Hong Kong SAR, China: 85.29 years. (Image: Reuters)
Japan: 85.03 years. (Image: Reuters)
Macao (SAR, China): 84.68 years. (Image: Reuters)
Switzerland: 84.25 years. (Image: Reuters)
Singapore: 84.07 years. The below five countries are those where overall life expectancy is the lowest. (Image: Reuters)
Central African Republic: 54.36 years. (Image: Reuters)
Chad: 55.17 years. (Image: Shutterstock)
Lesotho: 55.65 years. (Image: Reuters)
Nigeria: 55.75 years. (Image: Reuters)
Sierra Leone: 55.92 years. (Image: Reuters)