Increasing global heterogeneity in the life expectancy of older populations

ABSTRACT With overall global improvements in life expectancy, one important concern is whether there is cross-country convergence in life expectancy at various ages. Insights in convergence patterns can help realign research priorities help governments better structure health investments across various age groups. We reveal global patterns in life expectancy improvements and identify convergent clubs in life expectancy at various ages for 201 countries / areas between 1950 and 2015. In the case of life expectancy at younger ages, most countries are moving in the same direction, but we observe significant cross-country variation for older adults and the elderly. Further, we observe increasing variance in life expectancy for older adults and elderly across countries. Increasing global heterogeneity in survival experience of older adults and the elderly population thus has remained a neglected aspect in the discussions on global life expectancy improvements. Data, research and policy focus beyond life-expectancy at birth is therefore critical to accelerate survival gains among older adults and elderly, particularly from the developing world.