The Western Cape has the highest life expectancy in the country – men in the province have an average life expectancy at birth of 65.7 years and women 71.1.
This is according to Statistician-General Risenga Maluleke, who presented the 2019 mid-year population estimates yesterday.
Life expectancy at birth for South Africans for the period 2016 to 2021 is estimated at 61.5 years for men and for women it’s six years longer at 67.7.
This is a slight increase for the previous period from 2011 to 2016, which had a life expectancy of 61.1 for men and 67.5 for women.
Gauteng has the second-highest life expectancy at birth, with men living an average 63.8 years and women an average of 69.2.
The Free State still has the lowest life expectancy at birth of 54.6 years for men and 61.3 for women. Kwazulu-Natal has the second lowest – 57.1 years for men and 63.7 for women.
For the period 2001 to 2006, life expectancy at birth was as low as 45.6 years for men and 49.2 for women in the Free State.
More: IOL