How Long Can You Expect to Live, How You May Die Projected by Census Bureau

December 16, 2006 – "Adults and teens will spend nearly five months (3,518 hours) next year watching television, surfing the Internet, reading daily newspapers and listening to personal music devices," so says the lead paragraph in the news release from the U.S. Census Bureau announcing the Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2007. But, let's dig down to the important information, like how long are we expected to live now days and how might we meet our end. That information is there, too.

December 12, 2006

Senior Citizens in a Lot of Pain but Living Longer, Says New Government Report

Life expectancy at birth reached record 77.9 years in 2004, up from 77.5 in 2003 - November 15, 2006

Chronic Diseases are Leading Causes of Death among Senior Citizens

Heart disease and cancer remain top killers of older Americans - August 7, 2006

Facts about Senior Citizens Packaged by Census Bureau

May is Older Americans Month and here are facts seniors may not know - April 26, 2006

Americans Living Longer, Men Gain on Women in 2004

CDC releases report shows death rate at record low for 2004 - April 20, 2006

Read more Statistics on Senior Citizens

“The Statistical Abstract is a collaborative effort that showcases our government statistics and the work of the international community, private industry and nonprofit agency researchers,” said Census Bureau Director Louis Kincannon, in releasing the mammoth report yesterday.

We dug down immediately to find the latest life extectancy table, which is based on 2003. We have the tables below, where you will find, for example, that a person who was 65 in 2003 can expect to live to age 83.4. If, however, you are a black female, that stretches to 83.5.

Note that the oldest living person in the world recently died at age 116, Lizzie Borden, a black female from Tennessee. (a link to this story is in sidebar)

More strikingly, however, when in comes to racial differences of longevity, a black female who was 80 in 2003 can expect to live to 89.8, slightly longer than a white female, who is expected to reach only 89.6. Bad news for the 80 year old men, the white guys will only reach 88, but their black contemporaries should make it to 87.9. That is a sizeable gap.

The report also includes a report on deaths and death rates by major causes in 2003, which is below the tables on life expectancy on this page. For seniors citizens 65 through 74, cancer was the leading killer, followed closely by heart disease. The other causes of death drop off pretty fast after the top two.

But, after reaching age 75, heart disease jumps into first place as the killer of the elderly and just become more dominant with age.

Another report released by the World Health Organization shows 27 countries have healthy life expectancies for males and females that exceed the United States. (This chart is the last one on this page.)

Another government report, released last month by the Centers for Disease Control, said life expectancy at birth reached a record 77.9 years in 2004, up from 77.5 in 2003 and from 75.4 in 1990. Since 1990, the gap in life expectancy between men and women has narrowed from seven to just over five (5.2) years.

At birth, life expectancy for females is just over 80 years and nearly 75 for males. The gap in life expectancy between white and black Americans also has narrowed from seven years in 1990 to five years in 2004. (a link to this report is in sidebar)

>> U.S. Census Bureau’s Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2007

Expectation of Life by Race, Sex, Age - 2003
Check your age in 2003 at left and read across for how many more years you can expect to live.						Check your age in 2003 at left and read across to see what age you are expected to reach. Note: these ages were calculated by SeniorJournal.com from stats at left.
		White		Black				White		Black
	Total	Male	Female	Male	Female		Total	Male	Female	Male	Female
At	77.5	75.3	80.5	69	76.1	At	77.5	75.3	80.5	69	76.1
birth	77.5	75.3	80.5	69	76.1	birth	77.5	75.3	80.5	69	76.1
1	77	74.8	79.9	69.1	76	1	78	75.8	80.9	70.1	77
2	76.1	73.8	78.9	68.2	75.1	2	78.1	75.8	80.9	70.2	77.1
3	75.1	72.9	78	67.2	74.1	3	78.1	75.9	81	70.2	77.1
4	74.1	71.9	77	66.2	73.1	4	78.1	75.9	81	70.2	77.1
5	73.1	70.9	76	65.3	72.2	5	78.1	75.9	81	70.3	77.2
6	72.1	69.9	75	64.3	71.2	6	78.1	75.9	81	70.3	77.2
7	71.1	68.9	74	63.3	70.2	7	78.1	75.9	81	70.3	77.2
8	70.2	67.9	73	62.3	69.2	8	78.2	75.9	81	70.3	77.2
9	69.2	66.9	72	61.3	68.2	9	78.2	75.9	81	70.3	77.2
10	68.2	66	71	60.3	67.2	10	78.2	76	81	70.3	77.2
11	67.2	65	70