The World Health Organisation has released its latest Global Health Estimates, highlighting global trends in life expectancy, mortality and disease burden between 2000 and 2023.
The report shows that global life expectancy rose to 73.3 years in 2023, nearing pre-pandemic levels, although healthy life expectancy remained below the 2019 figure.
According to the WHO, noncommunicable diseases accounted for 74 per cent of global deaths in 2023, up from 58 per cent in 2000. Dementia deaths also tripled, while health loss associated with anxiety and depression increased significantly following the COVID-19 pandemic.
The estimates also identified cardiovascular diseases, respiratory conditions and other major illnesses among the leading contributors to deaths worldwide.
