Why South Koreans now live longer than Americans
And will soon live longer still.
By Julia Belluz and Sarah Frostenson
Updated Feb 9, 2018, 7:26am PST
vox.com
excerpt:
This South Korea-US contrast is yet another example of the importance of equitable access to health care — something South Korea and many other developed countries have managed to provide their citizens while the US continues to falter.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8023785/us_life_expectancy_women_chart_vox.png) For the Lancet study, researchers at the Imperial College London, the World Health Organization, Northumbria University, and the University of Washington developed a new model for predicting future life expectancy in 35 countries using 21 forecasting projections. Most impressively, they found that in South Korea, life expectancy in women could jump from 84 in 2010 to 91 by 2030. In France, Japan, and Spain, female life expectancy is expected to hit at least 88 or 89 years, up from around 85.
Men in South Korea, as well as Australia and Switzerland, are also expected to lead the world in life expectancy, living to about 84 by 2030, with Canada, Spain, New Zealand, and the Netherlands following closely.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8023781/us_life_expectancy_men_chart_vox.png) The US, by contrast, is among the countries in the study with the smallest boost, with similarly small gains in Japan, Sweden, Greece, Macedonia, and Serbia. In 2010, life expectancy for American men was 76, and for women, 81. In 2030, men here can expect to live to 79 and women 83 — increases of just a couple of years.
“Notable among poor-performing countries is the USA,” the researchers wrote, “whose life expectancy at birth is already lower than most other high-income countries, and is projected to fall further behind such that its 2030 life expectancy at birth might be similar to the Czech Republic for men, and Croatia and Mexico for women.”
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Bennett pointed out that “Korea got a lot of things right” when it comes to health care access, which is why the increases in longevity have been so widespread. “[South Korea] has had economic improvements, which has led to improved nutrition and access to health care and medical technology across the whole population,” he explained. Unlike the US, “South Korea is very equitable, all the way across the population,” he added.
That may be understating South Korea’s achievements. The country is viewed as an economic miracle. Once among the world’s poorest nations, it’s now one only two economies in the world (along with Taiwan) that have seen an annual average growth rate of more than 5 percent for five consecutive decades, as CNN’s Fareed Zakaria reported.
But what makes the South Korea example particularly striking is that on average, citizens in the US are far wealthier than South Koreans: The average income of Americans is $55,980 — more than double the average income in South Korea. For all its wealth over the past century, the US still hasn’t cracked health. And the growing problem of inequality here isn’t going to make things better.
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