Interesting facts about the centenarians of the world

Did you know that life expectancy depends not only on our genes, physical activity and diet, but also on what country we live in? Thanks to the tremendous advancement of modern medicine, people around the world are living longer and longer. Based on data World Bank, UN, Bloomberg news agency and reports from the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) have compiled a ranking of countries with the highest life expectancy. Do you want to know which countries these are? We present to your attention the top 10 countries where people live the longest.

10. Norway.

The average life expectancy in the country is 81.3 years. The official retirement age is 67 years. Currently, the group of people over 60 years of age make up 22 percent of the Norwegian population.

9. France.

The average life expectancy in France is 81.67 years. The official retirement age is 60 years. Pensioners over 60 make up 24 percent of the country's population.

8. Israel.

The average Israeli citizen lives 81.76 years. Men retire at 67 and women at 62. 15 percent of Israel's population is over 60 years old.

7. Sweden.

Swedes live an average of 81.8 years. They retire at the age of 65. Already more than 25 percent of the population of this country is over 60 years old. Interestingly, only 4.1 percent of Swedish pensioners live with their adult children. This is one of the lowest rates in the world.

6 Australia

81.85 years - average duration life in Australia. The official retirement age for men is 65 and for women it is 64. Currently, 20 percent of Australian society is over 60 years of age.

5. Italy.

The average Italian lives 82.09 years. The retirement age for men is 65 years, for women - 60 years. People over 60 make up 27 percent of the total Italian population.

4. Spain.

In Spain, live an average of 82.33 years. Both men and women at the age of 65 retire here. Persons over 60 make up 23 percent of the Spanish population.

3. Iceland.

The average life expectancy in the country is 82.36 years, and the retirement age is 67 years. Thanks to good demographic situation the population over 60 years of age is only 17 percent. For your information: Iceland has one of the highest birth rates in Europe.

2. Japan.

The average Japanese citizen lives 82.59 years. The Japanese retire at the age of 65. People over the age of 60 make up 32 percent of the total population of the country - this is the highest figure in the world.

Health 10/17/2016

Dear readers, today on the blog I want to talk about the phenomenon of longevity. Gerontologists and other professionals involved in exploring the possibilities human body, they assure that we live criminally little. The human body from birth is programmed for 100-120 years of not just existence, but active being. That is, we live on average 30-40% less than the time allotted by nature. Why? There are many reasons, but now we will talk about them only indirectly. Using the example of unique long-lived people, we will see what gives people the strength to go through life for so long, and often, and fruitfully.

Who is considered long-livers?

Remember old movie Makropulos' Remedy based on a play by Karel Capek? The author posed a philosophical question: is immortality such a good thing for us, to which a person sometimes carelessly strives? Well, if not immortality, but to live a very long time is also sometimes a heavy burden. “Old age is not a joy,” sometimes people of retirement age sigh.

From the point of view of the "champions" of longevity, the centenarians of the world from the Guinness Book of Records, they are very young, but tired of life. However, there are enough such “old men” even among 30-year-olds. Therefore, we will talk here, first of all, not about long years in general, but about how individual people manage to accomplish the almost impossible: to remain both at 100 years old and at a more respectable age in a clear mind and in physical health.

To begin with, it is worth deciding on who should be considered centenarians?

It is generally accepted to refer to this category of people whose age is more than 90 years. This figure is enshrined in the WHO classification.

Needless to say, there are many such people in the world. Even in our country, traditionally criticized for low life expectancy, about 350 people have exceeded this age limit. And every year the number of "elders" continues to grow.

The second essential point: whether a person has official documents confirming his date of birth. This is more difficult, after all, the world over the past century has experienced two global wars and many other cataclysms, and purely family problems sometimes lead to the loss of such papers. Therefore, there are so-called verified centenarians of the world and unofficial, conjectural. The latter have to provide some indirect evidence of their records.

An indisputable fact: there are many more women who are centenarians than men. This, too, is baffling scientists. Although in general the life expectancy of the "strong" sex is almost universally less than that of their fairer halves. There are quite objective reasons for that. The main one, the one on the surface: they are more diligently shortening their lives bad habits and sometimes overwork.

Phenomenon of place: Japan, small villages in Italy and a tribe in India

The question of binding this phenomenon to the terrain is also interesting. Why do people live much longer in some countries and certain regions than in others? Ecology, the level of medicine and social benefits, food traditions - these and many other factors are taken into account by researchers. But these statistics do not give exact and comprehensive answers. The secret still remains.

It is well known that many people of a very respectable age live in mountainous areas planets (but not too high, where the air is already very thin). Georgia, Azerbaijan, Abkhazia and other territories former USSR marked by this advantage, also many of the world's longest-lived people live in Japan.

In the Land of the Rising Sun, more than 40 thousand citizens have passed the 100-year mark. The UN has made a forecast that by 2050, if the trend continues, there will already be a million centenarians in this country. This even causes fears of those in power: the nation is aging, the percentage of elderly Japanese in the total population is constantly increasing.

86% of the age record holders are women, and Japan is no exception. If you look through the lists of official centenarians of the world, then there we will see many representatives of this country. Let's say Misao Okawa passed away last year at the age of 117 years and 27 days. And now the living Nabi Tajima on October 16, 2016 was 116 years and 72 days old.

Scientists from Italy have recently published the results of research on the phenomenon of the inhabitants of the village of Acciaroli. 300 people there are over 100 years old. Moreover, they work and live actively, enjoying all the joys of life, including sexual ones! You can read about this in And here you can learn a lot of interesting things about what modern medicine can help everyone who seeks to extend their earthly path.

But here's what scientists can't unravel, so it's a mystery. We will not find the names of its representatives in the ratings of the long-livers of the world of the book of records, probably, they simply have no time to deal with formalities. But, having lived for more than 110 years (and, without exception!) These natives see perfectly, have excellent teeth without signs of caries, and generally have enviable health.

The only secret that is visible to the naked eye is the dietary habits of the tribe members. They eat fruits and raw vegetables, and eat meat only on major holidays. They prepare juices for future use, drink them in the most difficult times, when a new harvest or weather has not arrived in time, nature presents unpleasant surprises.

Another distinguishing feature of the hunza is the constant physical activity, hardening, brought up by the habit of bathing in cold water. 60-year-old women of the tribe calmly give birth to healthy strong men and live, in the full sense of the word, happily ever after. By the way, this is precisely what may be the most important factor in their resilience: impenetrable optimism!

Other record-breaking countries for the number of centenarians

The same rule is followed by the long-livers of the world today, living in Abkhazia. There long term life surprises no one, almost 3% of the population in their passports have dates of birth of the beginning of the last century. " Evil people they don’t live long” - this is one of the most common Abkhaz sayings.

More than 80 thousand people in the United States also belong to centenarians. Everything is different here: not shiny environmental performance, high pace of existence with inevitable stresses. But the country can boast of a very high level life in general and medicine in particular.

The example of Cuba is even more impressive. Here, for 11 million people, there are 3,000 centenarians and those who have exceeded this age limit. Again, the secret is in the close attention of the state to health issues.

Taiwan has long been considered another "hotbed of longevity". There are over 1,200 people aged 100 and over in a small country. Here, apparently, the point is in the Eastern traditions of nutrition and unhurried being, a philosophical attitude to the world.

Legends of the world: undocumented "champions"

There lived such a character in China: Li Chung-yan. He left for another world in 1933 and assured that the year of his birth was 1680, that is, he lived for 253 years. He did not hide the origins of his cheerfulness: exercise stress, special breathing exercises and ... oriental equanimity. “The heart must be kept at rest and sleep as in last time"- he taught others.

What do they say about it historical facts? Archivists found documents where we are talking about the congratulations of a person with the name of Li Chung-yan by the Chinese emperor. And the supreme ruler congratulated him on his glorious anniversaries of 150 and 200 years. Whether this is the same person or a full namesake, a relative of the centenarian of the 20th century, remains a big question. But I really want to believe!

Other centenarians of the world called different dates: for example, the Hungarians Zoltan Petrazh and Petr Zortai assured that they lived 186 and 185 years, respectively. Pakistani Mahammad Afziya - 180, as well as a number of representatives of other countries.

The Soviet Union even issued a postage stamp in honor of Mukhamed Eyvazov. He died in 1959 at the age of about 151.

And here is an instructive story from English connoisseurs of antiquity. King Charles in 1935 invited the peasant Thomas Parr to London, who assured that he was 152 years old, he survived 9 kings. Karl did not stint on magnificent celebrations. But after a plentiful feast, a unique guest died. It was officially announced that from pneumonia, he was buried with honors in Westminster Abbey. But most scientists agree that the true cause tragic ending there was a banal overeating at the royal table.

Longevity world record holders

If you look at the lists proposed by Wikipedia, then they list the 100 most "long-playing" inhabitants of the planet, whose proven age at the time of death exceeded 114 years. The lists of the “younger” ones, aged 100 and older, are much longer.

And here again we meet with riddles and contradictions. If decent living conditions help to enjoy years somewhere, then how to explain the phenomenon of Maggie Pauline Barnes, who lived 115 years 319 days (from 1882 to 1998). This is truly unique: she is the only representative of the centenarians of the world who were born into slavery.

The mentioned lists and examples from the Guinness Book of Records also mention the names of American women Bessie Cooper, Elizabeth Bolden, Japanese woman Tane Ikai, representative of Ecuador Maria Capovilla and dozens of other “champions” who have crossed the line of 116-year life expectancy. And Sarah Knauss at the time of her death was over 119 years old (she is from the USA).

Japanese Tane Ikai said that her success is connected with her love for seafood, which she always preferred in nutrition. But the Canadian Maria Louise Mailer safely reached the age of 117 years and 230 days, but all her life she worked tirelessly, moreover, in difficult conditions. Two husbands, 10 children. In addition, Maria did not refuse a glass or two of wine, but quit smoking on her 90th birthday.

There are few men in this glorious cohort. In the Guinness Book of World Records category of centenarians, the name of a Japanese who lived a little over 116 years is recorded. This is Jiroemon Kimura. Christian Mortensen, a Dane who emigrated to the USA, enjoyed life for 115 years and 252 days. Puerto Rican Emiliano Mercado del Toro is also among the record holders with a total of 115 years 163 days. There are several more "junior" champions.

Jeanne Calment: frenetic Frenchwoman

For many years, Jeanne-Louise Calment led the list of the longest-livers in the world with a phenomenal result of 122 years and 164 days (1875-1997). Just imagine: she could see the first flight of the Wright brothers, survived two world wars and a bunch of other significant events in world history.

I suggest watching a video about her and about the Top 10 centenarians of our planet.

It turns out that her recipe for success is constant physical activity. The bike, and not a pleasure bike, she was almost a pro in racing! And at the age of 85, she learned to fence decently. Before last days was in memory and a clear mind, distinguished by an excellent sense of humor. And a taste for good clothes!

Louise Kalman explained her record by the ability to follow a simple rule: "When problems cannot be solved, there is no need to worry."

By the way, the frantic Frenchwoman did not eat nectar and ambrosia at all. Do you know when she denied herself the pleasure of drinking a glass of port every day? At 117 years old! One unfortunate notary decided to “benefit” 92-year-old Jeanne-Louise by undertaking to pay her life annuity. She lived another 30 years, having outlived the notary for a long time, which did not wait for her modest apartment.

Antisa Khvichava: an example of diligence

But who should be considered officially recognized as the longest-lived person in the world in the entire history, at least the modern one? This is Antisa Khvichava, an ordinary Georgian woman who did not live long enough to reach the milestone of 133 years. For 85 years she worked on tea plantations.

There are documents confirming the authenticity of the fact of her birth in 1880. This was recognized by the specialists of the Guinness Book of Records, who issued the corresponding certificate to the Georgian woman.

Antisa Khvichava was illiterate, so she did not undertake to tell the numerous guests about the origins of her uniqueness. But she was interested in the latest in science, she wanted to learn how to use a computer. Her quickness of mind and natural curiosity remained with her until her last breath.

And what do scientists know about the secret of longevity?

Let's try to draw some conclusions. Who are they, the long-livers of the world: people who have made themselves or the lucky ones, the minions of fate?

Of course, much is being done in terms of general development health care, increasing the life expectancy of entire countries and peoples. Child mortality rates are declining, much has been done in terms of finding new methods of treating oncology and diseases of the cardiovascular system. But they still take the most human lives, making his black edit to the statistics.

University of California anatomy professor Leonard Hayflick discovered an interesting pattern: human life expectancy and the ratio of brain weight to body weight are proportionally related. The more private it is, the longer the life. According to him, aging begins when we stop growing. In fact, from 30 years, or even earlier. But sharks, Galapagos tortoises and a number of other creatures age very slowly, because almost all their lives they grow a little, but grow in size.

Paracelsus, meanwhile, was sure that a person could live 600 years. His Russian colleagues Ilya Mechnikov and Alexander Bogomolets gave us a term of 160 years.

We can say that the process is influenced by heredity, and this is partly true. Ecology, food, healthy lifestyle life - all these are factors of influence. But, even from the above examples, it is clear that "our" centenarians were not angelic beings. Some drank, by the way, some, even quite decently, others smoked or even smoked recklessly, others abused coffee.

The Irish landowner Brown, who is believed to have lived to be 120 years old, bequeathed to make himself a gravestone inscription. Here is her text: "He was always drunk and so terrible in this state that death itself was afraid of him."

Here are the thoughts for all of us... But there is, there is one thing in common that unites all the centenarians of the world - this is an inexhaustible love of life, optimism. They lived long because they sincerely loved life. And she repaid them in return.

I wish you all good health and the simple joys of life. We all have something to learn from centenarians: the same positive attitude, hard work and a calmer attitude to stress.

And for the soul, we will listen today Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Piano Concerto No. 23 , in A major, 2nd movement Adagio. Piano: Vladimir Horowitz. Listen to such beautiful music more often. Mozart is light, purity and just spiritual joy.

The longest living insect is the termite queen (50 years)

Usually people think that insects only live for a few days or weeks, but if you're particularly important, all the rules don't apply. Regardless of the species, a termite colony is ruled by a king and queen. After being inseminated by a male, the queen slowly ramps up her production of eggs, starting with a few dozen and eventually reaching around 25,000 eggs per day (of course, not all of these eggs mature). Not the dinner of predators, termite queens have been known to reach 50 years of age, and kings (who spend almost their entire lives locked in a nuptial chamber with their prolific queens) also have relatively long life. As for the simple worker termites that make up the bulk of the colony, they live for a maximum of one to two years. Such is the fate of the ordinary slave.

Longest-lived fish - koi (50 years)

IN wild nature fish rarely live longer than a few years, and even aquarium gold fish requires good care to reach a decade. But many fish in the world would envy the colored koi popular in Japan and other parts of the world, including the US. Like other representatives of cyprinids, which can withstand a wide variety of conditions environment, although (especially given their bright colors that people like), they are not particularly well camouflaged to protect against predators. Individual koi are estimated to live over 200 years, but the most widely accepted estimate among scientists is 50 years, which is much longer than the average inhabitant of your tank.

Longest living bird - macaw (100 years)

These colorful parrots are able to breed throughout their lives: the females incubate the eggs and take care of the chicks, while the males forage for food. With a lifespan of up to 60 years in the wild and up to 100 years in captivity, macaws are almost as good as humans. Ironically, although these birds can live for a very long time, many species are endangered due to the desire of people to keep them as pets and logging. The longevity of macaws and other members of the parrot family begs the question: since birds evolved from dinosaurs, and since we know that many dinosaurs were just as small and colorful, could some of these prehistoric reptiles have reached the age of a century?

The longest-lived amphibian is the European proteus (100 years)

If you are asked to name animals that regularly reach the age limit, then the blind amphibian is the European Proteus ( Proteus anguinus) will probably be last on your list: how can a fragile, eyeless, caveman, 30 cm amphibian survive in the wild for even a couple of weeks? Naturalists attribute the longevity of the European Proteus to an unusually slow metabolism. These amphibians reach sexual maturity only at 15 years old, and also lay eggs no more than once every 12 years. They practically do not move, except when looking for food. Moreover, in damp caves Southern Europe, where the European proteus lives, there are practically no predators, which allows you to live up to 100 years in the wild. In comparison, the Japanese giant salamander, which is the second longest-lived amphibian, rarely crosses the 50-year mark.

Longest living primate - human (100 years)

It is not uncommon for humans to live to be 100 years old or more, making us the longest living primates. There are about half a million people in the world who are about 100 years old. Tens of thousands of years ago Homo sapiens was considered old if he lived to 20-30 years, and until the 18th century, the average life expectancy rarely exceeded 50 years. The main culprits were high infant mortality and susceptibility to fatal diseases. However, at any stage of human history, if you managed to survive in early childhood and adolescence, your chances of living 50, 60, or even 70 are greatly multiplied. To what can we attribute this amazing increase in longevity? Well, in a word, civilization, especially sanitation, medicine, nutrition and cooperation (during ice age the human tribe most likely left their elderly relatives to starve in the cold, and today we are making special efforts to take care of our octogenarian relatives.)

The longest living mammal is the bowhead whale (200 years old)

As a rule, more large mammals have a relatively long lifespan, but even by this standard, bowhead whales are far ahead, as they often cross the 200-year mark. IN Lately analysis of the bowhead whale genome has shed some light on this mystery: it turns out that these whales have unique genes that help in DNA repair and resistance to mutations (and therefore cancer). Because the bowhead whale lives in arctic and subarctic waters, its relatively slow metabolism may also have something to do with longevity. Today, about 25,000 bowhead whales live in the northern hemisphere, which is a positive trend in the recovery of the population since 1966, when serious efforts were made international efforts to deter whalers.

Longest living reptile - giant tortoise (300 years)

Giant tortoises of the Galapagos and Seychelles are classic examples of "island gigantism" - the tendency of animals restricted to island habitats and without natural predators to grow to unusually large sizes. And these turtles have a lifespan that perfectly matches their weight of 200 to 500 kg. Giant tortoises are known to live longer than 200 years, and there is every reason to believe that in the wild they regularly overcome the 300-year mark. Like some of the other animals on this list, the reasons for the longevity of giant tortoises are obvious: these reptiles move very slowly, their basal metabolism is extremely low, and life stages, as a rule, are relatively stretched (for example, the Aldabra giant tortoise reaches sexual maturity only at 30 years old).

Longest-lived shark - Greenland shark (400 years)

If there was justice in the world, then the Greenland shark would be as famous as the big one. White shark: She is also large (some adults exceed 1000 kg) and much more exotic given her northern arctic habitat. You might think that the Greenland Shark is as dangerous as the Jaws Star, but while a hungry white shark will bite you in half, the Grenadian Shark is relatively harmless to humans. However, the most remarkable fact about the Greenland shark is its lifespan of over 400 years. This longevity is due to the cold habitat and very low metabolism. Surprisingly, these sharks reach sexual maturity after 100 years, while most of the others at this age are not only sexually inactive, but have long been dead!

The longest-lived mollusk is the Icelandic cyprina ( Arctica islandica) (500 years)

A 500-year-old clam sounds like a joke, since most clams are virtually immobile, and how can you tell for sure if it's alive or not? However, there are scientists who research such things, and they have determined that the Icelandic cyprina ( Arctica islandica) can literally live for centuries, as evidenced by one specimen that has passed the 500-year mark (you can tell the age of a clam by counting the growth rings on its shell). Ironically, Icelandic cyprina is also a popular food in some parts of the world, meaning that most shellfish will never be able to celebrate their quincentenary. Biologists have yet to figure out why Arctica islandica live so long, but one reason could be relatively stable antioxidant levels, which prevent the damage responsible for most of the signs of aging in animals.

The longest living microorganisms are endoliths (10,000 years)

Determining the life span of microorganisms is a rather complicated process. In a sense, all bacteria are immortal because they spread their genetic information, constantly sharing (and not like most higher animals, having sex). The term "endoliths" refers to, or algae, that live deep underground in crevices. rocks, corals and animal shells. Studies have shown that some individuals from endolithic colonies undergo cell division only once every hundred years, and their lifespan reaches 10,000 years. Technically, this is different from the ability of some microorganisms to revive after stagnation or deep freezing after tens of thousands of years. Endoliths are literally constantly "alive", although not very active. They are autotrophic organisms that carry out metabolism not with the help of oxygen or sunlight, and using inorganic chemical substances, which are practically inexhaustible in their habitats.

Longest living invertebrate - Turritopsis dohrnii (potentially immortal)

There is no reliable way to determine how many years the average jellyfish lives. These are so fragile that they do not lend themselves to intensive research in laboratories. However, no rating of long-lived animals would be complete without mentioning Turritopsis dohrnii- a species of jellyfish that is able to return to the polyp stage after reaching puberty, which makes them potentially immortal. However, it is almost unbelievable that any individual T. dohrnii could live for millions of years. Biological "immortality" doesn't mean you won't be eaten or killed by other animals drastic changes environmental conditions. Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to keep jellyfish T. dohrnii in captivity, a feat that has so far been accomplished by only one scientist working in Japan.

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Their names are included in the Guinness Book of Records, their national fame spreads far beyond home country. All because these are people - centenarians who have long crossed the 100-year milestone.

Jeanne Calment and the Guinness Book of Records

The longest-lived officially recognized Jeanne Calment was a native of France. At the time of her death on August 4, 1997, she was 122 years old. Born on February 21, 1875, she survived two world wars, and also saw Vincent van Gogh with her own eyes. Her age is officially confirmed and recorded in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest living person on earth.

The Frenchwoman did not lead a healthy lifestyle, loved sweets and wine, and also smoked a couple of cigarettes a day. However, her favorite means of transportation was a bicycle. The old woman explained her secret of longevity with a good sense of humor and lack of stress. I did not work active image life, loved fresh fruit, spent a lot of time outdoors.

At the age of 90, Jeanne Calment made a deal with the lawyer Raffre. Under this deal, the lawyer paid the old woman 2,500 francs every month, and in return, after her death, he had to get her house, because the Frenchwoman survived all her heirs. But Raffre died at the age of 77, and his widow paid money to the old woman for another 2 years. In total, the house cost the Raffre family at least 2 times more, but no offense arose, everyone treated the old woman with great respect.

officially confirmed The United States can be called the longest-lived country. 45 natives of the United States are in the top 100 longest-lived people in the world. In second place is Japan, where 25 people officially confirmed their age. France, Great Britain and Italy follow.

The terrain also affects life expectancy, so it is noticed that in mountainous areas the percentage of centenarians is higher. Of great interest is the Hunza tribe located in India. In this tribe, according to local residents, almost all live up to 110 years of age and above, but this is not documented. Some attribute this to a diet consisting mainly of fresh fruits and vegetables and practically total absence meat.

There are many more undocumented cases. Wars and cataclysms destroy documents, thus it is simply impossible to confirm the age of some people.

Officially the oldest person of the living recognized Japanese Nabi Tajima, who was born on August 4, 1900 and today she is 117 years 112 days old.

A list of the world's centenarians can be found on Wikipedia. As seen there are many more long-lived women, out of the 100 most the oldest people in the world, only 6! men, all other women.

If we consider not official Statistics is of interest to the Hindu Mahashta Murasi, who today should be 181 years old. He was born in 1835 and lives in Indian city of the dead- Varanasi. However, no documents confirming the age were found. Makhashta himself says that he outlived many of his relatives.

There are still many officially unconfirmed cases of longevity. So, according to Jose Aguinelo dos Santos, he was born on July 7, 1888 in Brazil in the city of Pedra Branca. His father was a slave, but he was already born a free man. To this day, he maintains a sober mind and often jokes about his age.

The most incredible case of long life attributed to Li Qingyun, who is said to have lived for 256 years. The Chinese native was born in Qijianxiang, Sichuan province in 1677 and died in 1933. He spent most of his life in the mountains, where he studied and collected herbs. Then he traveled around China, staying for a long time in Tibet. Li practiced Qigong breathing techniques, which were passed down to him by a 500-year-old hermit living in the mountains. Lee had 124 wives and 180 children. To this day, it is not known for sure whether the Chinese herbalist lived for so long, but there are quite a few documents confirming this, so in 1930 documents were found with official congratulations for 1827 with the 150th anniversary and for 1877 with the 200th anniversary.

In 1928, a journalist from The New York Times traveled to Lee's place and interviewed the locals. They confirmed that the old man did not change in appearance. He was two meters tall with a ruddy complexion. He always remained a cheerful, unchanged old man, who was still friends with their ancestors, who had long since died. Asked about the secret to a long life, Lee said:

"Keep your heart quiet, sit like a tortoise, walk awake like a dove, and sleep like a dog"

Hello dear readers! Yesterday at dinner, my friend told me the story of a woman (whose birthplace is China), but at the same time, in her fifties, she does not look her age at all. As if time stopped when she was 27-30 years old. This is surprising, especially for a woman, but I wonder what the average life expectancy in the world is. Which countries have the most centenarians and what is their secret eternal youth? You will learn about all this today ...

Despite the fact that over the centuries our planet has changed a lot, people, from a physiological point of view, have remained the same as before. The same people lived centuries ago, but today we have several times more tools and information when compared with our ancestors who lived on the planet half a century ago. It is thanks to the changed laws of life and a large information flow that the average age indicators have increased significantly. Few of you probably remember that before it was several times smaller.

Life expectancy in the US

For some reason, we all treat America as something supernatural and unattainable, but recently I read an article that the standard of living there has declined for the first time in 20 years.

What is the reason remains unclear, people die mainly from diseases, but the only good thing is that the number of deaths from cancer has remained unchanged.

Highest life expectancy by country in the world.

Portugal: growth dynamics

If you pay special attention to the healthcare system, then Portugal will become best example this area. According to WHO statistics, the country's health care, which combines such aspects as special insurance for representatives of a certain profession, voluntary medical insurance, is included in the ranking of the best world systems.

Thanks to a well-coordinated tax system, the government is ready to provide its citizens with free health insurance. In addition, according to statistics, people began to live longer. Men and women live 10 years longer (80 years) when compared with other countries in the world. In Portugal, life expectancy is 9 years longer than in other countries.

Luxembourg

This country has very strict health standards, which is why Luxembourg is considered the most advanced country. Each person pays a tax on health care, they also come from the income of the company, thereby covering insurance for all residents of the country, regardless of age and social status. As a result, 98% of the population can visit a doctor for free. For those who can afford it, there is additional insurance, mostly bought by non-profit organizations. Accordingly, the private sector is practically non-existent. Just a few years ago, women lived to 82 and men to 77. If you pay attention to the indicators, we can conclude that the system works perfectly.

South Korea (aged 84)

The advanced healthcare system of this country is considered one of the top among all developed countries peace.

Here the system of one payer works, in other words, all medical services only one organization pays - the state, which significantly reduces administrative costs when compared with European and North American ones. As a result, residents will pay several times less for the fact that in the future they will be able to provide the most complex medical services, moreover, this is done in the shortest possible time.

With such a healthcare system, it becomes clear why the country has the highest life expectancy. But health insurance does not include the collection of additional tests and procedures, which is extremely important in the case of a chronic or complex disease, such as cancer. Despite such positivism, many of my acquaintances who have been to Korea have stated that the majority of the population complains that because of high speed, the quality of medical service suffers significantly, as doctors want to increase their salaries due to the fact that they serve a lot of patients.

Australia (aged 84)

In this country, women live 85 years, and men - 81 years. If we consider that the country spends less than 10% of its income on the health care system, compared to America, which spends about 18%, then it may seem that this is some kind of hoax. The budget has financed health care since 1984.

In parallel, a special private system operates. It is income taxation that provides all residents with medical services, which include consultations with a therapist and a specialist, passing all the necessary tests and surgical operations. Regarding care for the elderly, according to the Australian Economist, the country received the highest score for the availability of such services, their quality and public awareness.

France (84 years old)

This country is able to spend several times more money to medicine than others. European countries and this can have a beneficial effect on the elderly population. In the past, WHO has rated the French healthcare system as the most advanced in the world. And today, the culture of paying more and receiving more in the healthcare system is considered the key point here.

Thirteen years ago, France set an absolute record of 84 years for women and 77 years for men, which is considered the highest in the EU, according to Agence France Presse's comparative table. The National Demographic Institute, which conducted the study, attributes this to progress in the development of medicine. In addition, I like the fact that the country spends a lot of money on the treatment of cancer and heart disease.

Italy

Why Italy ranks among the countries with the longest life expectancy is a question for many, given that the government spends only 9% of its income on health care. For sure, the national cuisine popular all over the world and the joyful, optimistic atmosphere have a positive impact on the quality of life of the indigenous population. Once the best in the world after the French capital, Italy's national healthcare system provides affordable healthcare to all European residents.

Today, Italians live long: men are 80 years old, and women are 85.

Singapore (85 years old)

Singaporean men and women ranked 5th and 4th respectively in terms of longevity despite the fact that the government spends only 3% of its income on healthcare. Here it is necessary to look at the unique social public policy. Initially, insurance policies can be purchased from the government, the prices for which are set at the legislative level. They also provide subsidies for low-income citizens, special pension programs, as well as compulsory savings programs, thereby making social savings available.

Switzerland (85 years old)

For three months after birth or obtaining Swiss citizenship, people are provided with health insurance. The system successfully combines public, private-public and completely private healthcare companies that operate within the framework of the Law on Public health insurance. All insurers are provided with basic medical services, regardless of age and health status.

Spain (85 years old)

When it comes to the life expectancy of the Spaniards, many, just as in the case of Italy, cannot understand why people live so long, since the socio-economic factors of these two countries are similar. In this case, it is also necessary to mention the Mediterranean diet. Food is considered part of the culture of this country, where, for sure, they do not really care about nutritional standards. For example, in the West people consume more calories. Here, national cuisine is in the first place and, surprisingly, there is no epidemic of obesity. Naturally, the universal healthcare system plays one of the leading roles, but the Spanish culture itself has a positive effect on the fact that people began to live longer.

Japan (87 years old),

men and women live the same length.

A resident of Japan lost her husband at 83. Today, at the age of 116, she is the oldest woman in the world according to the Guinness Book. What is her secret? Eat, rest and relax.

In addition, a man also lives in Japan, who was born on February 5, 03 of the last century - the oldest representative of the stronger sex in the world. And this is not surprising: the largest percentage of centenarians who are over 110 years old have Japanese citizenship.

One can only guess on the coffee grounds what is in the culture of Japan that gives them the opportunity to be such centenarians. On the one hand, the healthcare system is less individualized than in the West. There are no family doctors, no emphasis on medical ethics and the ability to speak with patients.

On the other hand, they have universal system, which uses world-class technology. But the main difference, despite everything, lies in the culture. According to statistics, following a diet, the Japanese are less likely to end up in hospitals with heart attacks.

A bit of history: how many people lived in the 19th century and in the 20th century

You can imagine that at the beginning of the 19th century, the average life expectancy of many countries did not exceed 35 years. (Statistics: London is 33 years old, for the Belgian capital - 32 years, for the Dutch - 34 years, France 40 years, and in Russia in general 32).

Why did people die so quickly? Most of them were infected infectious diseases, diarrhea, pneumonia, bronchitis and influenza. If in those years the inhabitants of the planet did not die from these and some other similar diseases, then the average life expectancy of the representatives of the strong half would be 70 years, not 40.5. It was at the very moment when medicines for acute diseases were found that life expectancy increased several times. By the middle of the 20th century, it had grown to 65 years, which is good news.

Indeed, just think how scary it is to realize that by the age of 32 your life could end. Today, a lot has changed, the pace of development, the speed has become completely different. People like to live, they are constantly developing, and many residents of the American countries are just starting to have children closer to 40 years. It seems to me that there is no secret to longevity, the only thing is to love and be loved, to enjoy life.

On the account of not drinking, not smoking, I don’t even know, among the centenarians there are people who smoked all their conscious lives, so this is everyone’s choice. It also doesn’t matter if you are a vegan or eat steaks, eat only fruits or give up dairy products. Statistics show that even those people who were completely unaware of the concept lived as long as possible. healthy eating. To save beautiful body and a beautiful spirit in it, it is important to value yourself, take care of yourself and others, live in comfortable conditions and not be nervous. What secrets of longevity do you know?

I just recently learned about - about which I wrote a separate article

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