Life expectancy
In 2015–2017, life expectancy at birth was 71.6 years for Indigenous males and 75.6 years for Indigenous females. The gap between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians was 8.6 years for males and 7.8 years for females (Table 4.1). These life expectancy estimates for Australia are adjusted for age-specific rates of Indigenous identification (‘age-adjusted’) (ABS 2018b).
Table 4.1: Life expectancy at birth (age-adjusted), by Indigenous status and sex, 2015–2017
|
|
Years |
|---|---|
|
Indigenous males |
71.6 |
|
Non-Indigenous males |
80.2 |
|
Difference in years |
8.6 |
|
Indigenous females |
75.6 |
|
Non-Indigenous females |
83.4 |
|
Difference in years |
7.8 |
Life expectancy decreases as remoteness increases for Indigenous Australians, but not for non-Indigenous Australians. Indigenous males and females living in Remote or Very remote areas have a life expectancy 6–7 years lower than those in Major cities (Figure 4.1).
Figure 4.1: Life expectancy at birth, by remoteness areas and sex, 2015–2017
Notes
1. ‘Regional’ includes Inner regional and Outer regional areas, ‘Remote’ includes Remote and Very remote areas.
2. These estimates could not be age-adjusted, and so cannot be compared with estimates for Australia provided in Table 4.1.
Source: Measure 1.19, Table D1.19.3 – Australian Bureau of Statistics 2018.
Indigenous Australians living in the lowest socioeconomic areas have a life expectancy (not age-adjusted) that is about four years lower than those living in the highest socioeconomic areas (Figure 4.2).
Figure 4.2: Life expectancy at birth, by socioeconomic area and sex, 2015–2017
Note: Socieconomic area is based on the Index of Relative Socio-Economic Disadvantage (IRSD)
Source: Measure 1.19, Table D1.19.4 – Australian Bureau of Statistics 2018.
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