South Korea’s life expectancy has declined to 82.7 years for babies born in 2022, compared to 83.6 years in 2021, marking the first drop since 1970, according to the country’s statistics agency. The decrease is attributed to a surge in deaths related to COVID-19, with the virus being the third leading cause of death in 2022. Despite still ranking among the world’s highest life expectancies, South Korea’s numbers were impacted by the pandemic. The country’s statistics agency noted that in the absence of COVID-19, life expectancy would have increased by 0.1 year instead of the observed 0.9-year decrease.
South Korea’s life expectancy drops to 82.7 years in 2022 due to COVID-19 impact.
