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. 2019 May 2;14(5):e0215742.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0215742. eCollection 2019.

Global trends in lifespan inequality: 1950-2015

Iñaki Permanyer  1 , Nathalie Scholl  1
Affiliations

Global trends in lifespan inequality: 1950-2015

Iñaki Permanyer et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Using data from the UN World Population Prospects, we document global trends in lifespan inequality from 1950 until 2015. Our findings indicate that (i) there has been a sustained decline in overall lifespan inequality, (ii) adult lifespan variability has also declined, but some plateaus and trend reversals have been identified, (iii) lifespan inequality among the elderly has increased virtually everywhere, and (iv) most of the world variability in age-at-death can be attributed to within-country variability. Such changes have occurred against a backdrop of generalized longevity increases. Our analyses suggest that the world is facing a new challenge: the emergence of diverging trends in longevity and age-at-death inequality among the elderly around the globe-particularly in high-income areas. As larger fractions of the world population survive to more advanced ages, it will be necessary for national and international health planners to recognize the growing heterogeneity that characterizes older populations.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. Density functions with age-at-death distributions in 1950–55, 1970–75, 1990–95, and 2010–15 in the world as a whole and in its regions.
EAP = East Asia & Pacific, CA = Central Asia, HIC = High-income countries, LAC = Latin America & Caribbean, MENA = Middle East & North Africa, SA = South Asia, SSH-HIV = Sub-Saharan Africa High HIV, SSA = Other Sub-Saharan African countries. Source: Authors’ calculations based on UN World Population Prospects data.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Scatterplots of longevity (horizontal axis) versus lifespan inequality (vertical axis) using the Theil index and the variance for overall, adult and elderly populations.
Source: Authors’ calculations based on UN World Population Prospects data.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Global lifespan inequality between 1950–55 and 2010–15 using the Theil index and the variance (left and right columns, respectively) for overall, adult and elderly populations.
Source: Authors’ calculations based on UN World Population Prospects data.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Within-country changes in longevity and lifespan inequality across SES groups over time.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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