Life Expectancy at Birth
A higher life expectancy is considered an indicator of better overall health of the population.
Cumulative number of person-years lived, divided by the number of live births in the initial cohort.
A period life table approach is used, applying the age- and sex-specific mortality rates for a given reference period to a hypothetical cohort.
Life tables are usually constructed separately for men and women because of their different mortality rates.
Population in an initial cohort of 100,000 live births
Cumulative number of person-years lived, for a cohort of 100,000 persons.
Age- and sex-specific mortality rates corresponding to the reference period are applied to a hypothetical cohort, typically of 100,000. Starting at birth, the probability of dying at each age or age interval is applied to the number of people surviving to that age or the beginning of the age interval, respectively.
Methodology
Name
Life Expectancy at Birth
Short/Other Names
Not applicable
Description
Number of years a person would be expected to live, starting at birth, if the age- and sex-specific mortality rates for a given reference period were held constant over his or her life span
Rationale
Used worldwide, life expectancy at birth is understood as a measure of the general health of a population. By definition, life expectancy is affected by age- and sex-specific mortality rates in a particular reference period.
Interpretation
A higher life expectancy is considered an indicator of better overall health of the population.
HSP Framework Dimension
Health system outcomes: Improve health status of Canadians
Areas of Need
Not applicable
Targets/Benchmarks
Not applicable
Available Data Years
to (calendar years)
Geographic Coverage
- All provinces/territories
Reporting Level/Disaggregation
- International
- National
- Province/Territory
- Region
- Neighbourhood Income Quintile
Indicator Results
Update Frequency
Every year
Latest Results Update Date
Updates
Not applicable
Description
Cumulative number of person-years lived, divided by the number of live births in the initial cohort.
A period life table approach is used, applying the age- and sex-specific mortality rates for a given reference period to a hypothetical cohort.
Life tables are usually constructed separately for men and women because of their different mortality rates.
Type of Measurement
Average or mean
Denominator
Description:
Population in an initial cohort of 100,000 live births
Numerator
Description:
Cumulative number of person-years lived, for a cohort of 100,000 persons.
Age- and sex-specific mortality rates corresponding to the reference period are applied to a hypothetical cohort, typically of 100,000. Starting at birth, the probability of dying at each age or age interval is applied to the number of people surviving to that age or the beginning of the age interval, respectively.
Exclusions:
- Rates used by Statistics Canada to calculate life expectancy are calculated with data that excludes the following:
- Births to mothers who are not residents of Canada
- Births to mothers who are residents of Canada whose province or territory of residence was unknown
- Deaths of non-residents of Canada
- Deaths of residents of Canada whose province or territory of residence was unknown
- Deaths for which age or sex of the decedent was unknown
Method of Adjustment
Not applicable
Adjustment Applied
None
Geographic Assignment
Place of residence
Data Sources
- Demography division, Statistics Canada
- OECD
- Vital Statistics - Death Database, Statistics Canada
Statistics Canada, Table 13-10-0389-01: Life expectancy, at birth and at age 65, by sex, three-year average, Canada, provinces, territories, health regions and peer groups; OECD Health Statistics, 2016.
Caveats and Limitations
This indicator does not provide information on the individual causes of deaths or on quality of life. The data is based on 2018 health region boundaries.
For complete Canada coverage, each northern territory represents a health region.
Trending Issues
Due to improvements in methodology and timeliness, the duration of data collection has been shortened compared with previous years. As a result, there may have been fewer deaths captured by the time of the release. The 2017 data is therefore considered preliminary.
Estimates based on 3 years of pooled data are available at the regional level from 2000 to 2002 forward, with the most current data being for 2015 to 2017.
References
Goodyear M, Malhotra N. . Accessed February 2020.
Statistics Canada. . 2019.
Public Health Agency of Canada Steering Committee on Health-Adjusted Life Expectancy. . 2012.
Statistics Canada. . Accessed February 2020.
How to cite:
Canadian Institute for Health Information. Life Expectancy at Birth. Accessed October 21, 2024.
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Comments
Life expectancy does not provide information about the quality of life. Other measures have been developed using a composite of morbidity and mortality data. For example, health-adjusted life expectancy (HALE) is the average number of years that an individual is expected to live in a healthy state (PHAC, 2012).
Indicator results are based on three years of pooled data. The reference point reflects the mid-point of a three-year period.
Indicator results are also available on