Emiratis and Kuwaitis live longer than other Arabs

Emiratis and Kuwaitis live longer than other fellow Arab citizens and are expected to maintain this trend in the long term, according to the United Nations.

Thanks to their advanced health and education infrastructures, both countries topped the region in terms of life expectancy during 2005-2010, averaging 77.6 years in Kuwait and 77.4 years in the UAE, the United Nations Economic Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA) said in a study.

Bahrain’s average stood at 75.7 years while it was estimated at 75.6 years in Oman. Qatar, the world’s third largest gas power and one of the wealthiest nations, came fifth in terms of life expectancy, which stood at 75.5 years, according to the Beirut-based ESCWA.

Other Arab nations with relatively high life expectancy are Syria with 74.1 years, Tunisia with 73.9 years, Palestine with 73.4 years, Saudi Arabia with 72.8 years, Jordan with 72.5 years and Algeria with 72.3 years.

Countries with low life expectancy rate are conflict-battered Somalia with only 49.6 years, Djibouti with 55.3 years, Mauritanian with 56.6 years, Sudan with 58 years and Yemen with 62.2 years, said ESCWA, which groups the UAE and its Gulf neighbours, as well as seven other Arab nations.

Although they lag behind advanced countries, Arab nations have made substantial progress in increasing life expectancy and cutting mortality rates because of more investments in medical services, education and projects to improve the living standards of citizens.

“Significant gains in life expectancy for both males and females were achieved in the Arab region during the past three decades,” ESCWA said.

“In the Gulf, life expectancy at birth is expected to keep on rising to reach a maximum of 82 years for both sexes in each of Kuwait and the UAE by mid-century. Conversely, the estimated figures for Somalia, Mauritania, Sudan, Yemen and Djibouti, showed that they were not able to meet the life expectancy target of 65 years in 2005 set by the International Conference on Population and Development in Cairo in 1994.

“Moreover, these countries, in addition to Comoros, will unlikely meet the target of 70 years in 2015.”

The report put the average Arab life expectancy at 69.2 years during 2005-2010 including 71.2 years for females and 67.5 years for males.

It projected the combined rate to climb to 70.5 years in 2015, around 71.6 years in 2020 and 72.7 years in 2025. It could peak at 73.7 years by 2030.

Kuwait and the UAE are expected to maintain their top life expectancy record in the region, with that of the UAE forecast to increase from 77.4 years in 2010 to 78.1 years in 2015, to 78.7 years in 2020, to 79.2 years in 2025 and to 79.8 years in 2030.

Kuwait’s rate will rise from 77.6 years in 2010 to 78.2 years in 2015, to 78.8 years in 2020, to 79.4 years in 2025 and to 79.9 years in 2030.

The report expected improvement in all Arab countries, but showed that they will remain relatively low in member states with already poor life expectancy apparently because of conflict, low health and educational services, social barriers, and absence of investment in infrastructure and services.

The rate in 2030 is forecast at 78.4 in Bahrain, 78.6 in Oman, 78.3 in Qatar, 77.5 in Syria, 77.4 in Libya, 77.2 in Tunisia, 76.9 in Palestine, 76.4 in Jordan, 76.3 in Saudi Arabia, 76.2 in Algeria, 75.8 in Lebanon, 75.5 in Morocco, 74.4 in Egypt, 72.8 in Iraq and 71.9 in Comoros.

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