The average life expectancy of the people of Bangladesh has risen to 72.3 years in 2018, up from 72 years in 2017, according to the latest figures by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS).
The life expectancy of men in the country currently stands at 70.8 years, while for women 73.8 years, it said.
The government agency unveiled its ‘Monitoring the Situation of Vital Statistics of Bangladesh (MSVSB)’ report on Wednesday (Jun 12), when Planning Minister MA Mannan presented the key findings to the media.
MSVSB Project Director AKM Ashraful Haq said women in the country suffer from fewer diseases than their male counterparts, which is the reason for their higher life expectancy.
In 2016, the average life expectancy of the people of Bangladesh was 71.6 years, which was 70.9 years in 2015 and 70.7 years in 2014.
The life expectancy of men in 2017 was 70.6 years, up from 70.3 in 2016, and that of women increased from 72.9 years in 2016 to 73.5 in 2017.
Since the independence of Bangladesh, the average life expectancy of its people has grown by almost 25 years.