According to CIA, Russia follows Iraq on the average life span index

A small European country – Andorra - holds the leadership on the average life expectancy in the world

Russia takes the 142nd position in the world in terms of life expectancy, following Iraq and being ahead of Belize. An average Russian citizen lives for 67.66 years, RBC news agency reports. The rating was made on the base of the statistic information from the US Central Intelligence Agency, whose specialists attempted to determine the average number of years that a group of people born in one and the same year can live. The CIA took into consideration the fact that the death rate for each age group remains permanent in the future.

The life span rating on the moment of birth is also a measurement tool of the living standard in this or that country. Some specialists consider it as an indicator of the potential return of “investments in the human capital” in a certain country.

A small European country – Andorra - holds the leadership on the average life expectancy in the world. Andorrians live for 83.49 years. Residents of Mozambique are on the bottom of the list: their average lives are measured at 31.3 years. Sweden is the leader among the European Union states with 79.97 years. Slovenia takes the first place among the countries of Eastern Europe: it takes the 64th position on the list with 75.5 years. The Czech republic comes 69th followed by Macedonia (71st), Slovakia (72nd), Croatia (75th), Serbia and Montenegro (79th) and Poland – the 80th position and 73.91 years.

As for republics of the former USSR, even most pro-Western Baltic republics that have already become NATO and EU members are demonstrating a rather sad situation. Estonia takes the 118th position on the list – Estonians live for 70.31 years. Lithuania and Latvia take the 124th and 130th places respectively with 69.6 and 69.31 years. All other states of the former Soviet Union fill the gap between the 139th and 170th positions. Belarus citizens can only boast of the 139th position for their country – average Belarussians live for 68.43 years. The 142nd place belongs to Russia – only 67.66 years. Ukrainians live for 66.5 years (the 147th place). The situation is the worst in the most non-democratic republic of the former USSR, Turkmenistan, - the 170th position and 61.19 years of life.

The average life span is the shortest in the majority of African states on account of a high death rate, overpopulation, insanitariness, civil wars and illnesses. African countries and Afghanistan take the last 40 positions on the above-mentioned countries.