Brazil's life expectancy reaches 76.4 years in 2023

Brazilian life expectancy at birth has increased to 76.4 years, according to new population projections from the Brazilian government´s statistics agency IBGE released on Thursday (Aug. 22).

The data indicate that life expectancy in Brazil for those born in 2023 is 79.7 years for women and 73.1 years for men, with an overall average life expectancy of 76.4 years.

IBGE also released updated figures for life expectancy in previous years. For instance, in 2019, just before the COVID-19 pandemic, the estimate was 76.2 years.

Pandemic

In 2020, life expectancy at birth fell to 74.8 years, and it declined further in 2021 to 72.8 years, a loss of 3.4 years compared to 2019. In 2022, life expectancy began to recover, reaching 75.4 years, though it remained below the 2019 level. By 2023, however, life expectancy surpassed the 2019 estimate.

According to IBGE projections for the coming decades, life expectancy is expected to rise to 77.8 years by 2030, 79.7 years by 2040, 81.3 years by 2050, 82.7 years by 2060, and 83.9 years by 2070.

“We experienced an external shock to mortality due to the pandemic, which was evident in 2021 and 2022. However, we are now observing a return to the historical trend. We project that life expectancy at birth will continue to rise over time, and the gap between men and women will narrow, primarily due to a reduction in deaths from external causes,” explains IBGE researcher Cíntia Agostinho.

The increase in life expectancy, combined with the reduction in the fertility rate, is leading to an aging population. According to IBGE, the proportion of elderly individuals (aged 60 or over) in Brazil rose from 8.7 percent in 2000 to 15.6 percent in 2023.

By 2070, 37.8 percent of the country's inhabitants are expected to be elderly, more than double the number today.

Average age and infant mortality

The average age of the population, which was 28.3 years in 2000, has risen to 35.5 years in 2023 and is expected to reach 48.4 years by 2070.

The infant mortality rate, which was 28.1 per thousand live births in 2000, decreased to 12.4 per thousand in 2022, with 13.4 for boys and 11.4 for girls. Projections indicate that this rate will continue to decline over the coming decades, reaching 5.8 per thousand by 2070, with 6.1 for boys and 5.4 for girls.