The World Health Organisation (WHO) has reported that the COVID-19 pandemic led to a significant drop in global life expectancy, effectively reversing a decade’s worth of health advancements.
In its newly published World Health Statistics 2025 report, WHO revealed that between 2019 and 2021, global life expectancy fell by 1.8 years the most substantial decline recorded in recent decades.
The report also noted a drop in global healthy life expectancy by approximately six weeks, largely driven by a surge in mental health issues such as anxiety and depression during the pandemic period.
According to the agency, these declines wiped out many of the previous health gains made through reduced mortality from noncommunicable diseases (NCDs).
In a related finding, the 2024 State of the Nation Health Report disclosed that Nigeria’s current life expectancy is 54.6 years, significantly lower than the global average of 73.3 years.
W.H.O defines life expectancy as the average number of years a newborn is expected to live based on current mortality trends, making it a crucial indicator of a population’s overall health and well-being.
