Patterns and Changes in Expectation of Life at Birth in India: 1998-2017

This paper analyses patterns and changes in the expectation of life at birth in India and decomposes the increase in the expectation of life at birth between 1998-2002 and 2013-2017. The analysis reveals considerable volatility in the increase in the expectation of life at birth in the country and in its different population groups and states. In recent years, there is considerable deceleration in the increase in the expectation of life at birth in the country because of the deceleration in the increase in female expectation of life at birth. The decomposition exercise reveals that most of the increase in the expectation of life at birth is attributed to the improvement in the survival probability in the first five years of life. The analysis also suggests that the recent deceleration in the increase in female expectation of life at birth may be attributed to the decrease in the person-years lived in the age group 40-65 years.