Mapping drivers of life expectancy change in Asia from 1990 to 2023

What the report says

Nature.com reported on a new analysis of life expectancy changes across Asia from 1990 to 2023, using Global Burden of Disease Study 2023 data for 34 countries and territories. The study examines not only overall longevity trends but also how specific causes of death and risk factors contributed to gains or setbacks over more than three decades.

According to the article preview, life expectancy rose in every Asian country and territory covered during the full 1990–2023 period. The pace of improvement differed by region: South Asia recorded the strongest annual gains, while high-income Asia Pacific countries and territories had the smallest annual increases. The study found that lower cardiovascular disease mortality was the leading driver of longer lives in Central Asia, East Asia and high-income Asia Pacific. In South and Southeast Asia, improvements were more closely tied to falling deaths from diarrhoeal diseases and tuberculosis.

The analysis also highlights a reversal during 2019–2023 in several Asian regions, which Nature.com says was largely linked to the COVID-19 pandemic. The first year of the pandemic was associated with an almost two-year reduction in life expectancy, though the exact effects varied by country, region, sex, disease pattern and risk profile.

The findings matter because Asia accounts for about 60% of the world’s population, yet the article notes that long-term, region-wide studies of life expectancy drivers have been limited compared with research in Western or high-income settings. The authors argue that tailored regional and national policies are needed to reduce premature deaths and narrow inequalities in life expectancy, applying the principle of proportionate support based on differing levels of need.