Life expectancy at birth rose from 73.2 years in 2000 to 77.1 years in 2023.
The age-standardized disease burden in the region fell by 14 percent between 2000 and 2019.
Maternal and neonatal disorders fell from sixth to twelfth place among the causes of healthy years of life lost.
People in North, Central and South America and the Caribbean lived longer than ever in 2023. Life expectancy at birth was then 77.1 years. The figures come from the report Health in the Americas 2026 by the Pan American Health Organization, PAHO.
The report covers the whole region, from Canada in the north to Chile and Argentina in the south. In 2023, nearly 1.05 billion people lived there. In 2000, there were just over 800 million.
Nearly four more years of life
In 2000, life expectancy in the region was 73.2 years. By 2023, it had increased by 3.9 years. That equals just over two months for every year that passed.
Life expectancy has also passed its level from before the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2019, it was 76.7 years, the highest level up to that point.
The increase follows a global trend. We have previously written about how life expectancy is increasing globally, with the largest increase in eastern Africa.
More healthy years
The report also measures healthy life expectancy. This is the number of years a person can expect to live in good health. It rose from 63.1 years in 2000 to 64.5 years in 2023. That is an increase of about three weeks per year.
PAHO measures disease burden in healthy years of life lost. Both premature deaths and years lived with illness are counted. Between 2000 and 2019, the age-standardized disease burden in the region fell by 14 percent.
The largest improvement between 2000 and 2023 was among children under five. There, the disease burden fell sharply for both girls and boys.
Maternal and neonatal disorders declined sharply over the same period. They fell from sixth to twelfth place among the causes of healthy years of life lost. Unintentional injuries fell from fourth to seventh place. Tobacco use and child and maternal malnutrition have also declined. The age-standardized disease burden from cardiovascular diseases fell throughout the period.
Nearly 40 percent could be avoided
The report compares the countries in the region with the countries in the world that have the best results. In 2023, nearly 40 percent of the region's healthy years of life lost were above levels that other countries have already reached. In Canada, the share was 21 percent.
According to PAHO, that share could be avoided with more effective prevention, timely diagnosis and treatment, and stronger health systems. Much of it involves cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and kidney diseases. Many of these are linked to high blood pressure, high blood sugar, tobacco use, alcohol use and physical inactivity.
PAHO Director Jarbas Barbosa says it is clear what works and that there is a great opportunity to improve health.
Long lives without high costs
According to the report, better health depends not only on how much money is spent, but also on how efficiently it is allocated. Peru, Costa Rica and Chile have long life expectancy despite relatively low health spending. According to the report, this suggests that their health systems use their resources efficiently.
The region has also come a long way in coverage of essential health services, compared with other WHO regions. This includes care for mothers, newborns and children, care for infectious diseases and care for chronic diseases. El Salvador, Barbados, Brazil and Costa Rica have reached high coverage with relatively low government spending on health.
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