Swiss men have longest life expectancy in the world: OECD

GENEVA

Switzerland has the highest male life expectancy in the world, according to recent figures by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

A boy born in Switzerland in 2021 has a life expectancy of 81.9 years, the OECD said.

Switzerland is followed closely by Iceland, Norway, and Japan.

The current life expectancy for women in Switzerland is 85.6 years and for men 81.6 years.

The number of centenarians has increased in Switzerland in recent years. The country registered 377 centenarians in 1990, while 787 in 2000, and the number currently stands at 1,888, the daily Le Matin Dimanche reported.

"Demographers estimate that every second child born in Switzerland after 2000 will live to be a hundred," Daniela Jopp, a professor leading a study on centenarians in Switzerland at the University of Lausanne, told Le Matin Dimanche.

According to Stephane Cullati from the University of Fribourg, there is a correlation between education level and average life expectancy.

"The differences in life expectancy between university graduates and those who completed basic education are considerable, especially for men," the researcher told the Swissinfo news channel.

"In 1994, the difference between the two was 7.6 years. Today, university graduates live 8.8 years longer in good health," Cullati added.