How long do Belarusians live? Comparing state media data with facts

According to Sergei Banari, an economist from Moldova, life expectancy in Belarus is the same as in the most developed countries. He made this statement in an interview with the Belarusian state-run news agency BelTA on February 7.

“The average age of life in Belarus corresponds to the standard of living in the most developed countries. The average life expectancy for men is 69 years, and for women — 79, the common life expectancy is 74.5 years. In fact, this is a very high standard of living. Compared to the Baltic countries, in my opinion, only Lithuania has a higher level than Belarus. All others are below. But no one talks about it,” he said.

According to the World Health Organization, life expectancy in developed countries is 82—83 years. In Lithuania — 76 years, in Latvia — a little more than 75, in Estonia — almost 79. So, Belarus is behind all EU countries in terms of this indicator.

Before, the TV channel ONT compared life expectancy in Belarus with the CIS countries. The news on February 4 reported:

“By the way, Belarusians live the longest in the CIS — on average 75 years. For comparison, in the mid-90s, the average life expectancy in our country was about 67 years.”

However, Armenians live the longest in the CIS — on average 76 years.