Life Expectancy
Definition
Life expectancy refers to the average number of years a person is expected to live based on current mortality rates. It's often used as a measure of a nation's health.
Analogy
Think of life expectancy like the estimated battery life on your laptop. Just as that estimate tells you how long you can use your laptop before it needs to be recharged, life expectancy gives an idea of how long people in a particular population are likely to live.
Related terms
Mortality Rate: A measure of the number of deaths in a particular population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit of time.
Infant Mortality Rate: The number of deaths per 1,000 live births of children under one year of age.
Demographics: Statistical data relating to the population and particular groups within it.
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