Health at a Glance 2017

Healthier lifestyles and better health policies drive life expectancy gains, says OECD.

Healthier lifestyles, higher incomes and better education have all contributed to boost life expectancy in recent decades. Better health care has also helped, according to a new OECD report.

Health at a Glance 2017 says that all OECD countries have seen life expectancy at birth increase by over 10 years since 1970 to reach an average of 80.6 years. Life expectancy at birth is highest in Japan (83.9 years), and Spain and Switzerland (83 years each), and lowest in Latvia (74.6) and Mexico (75).

The share of minor surgeries provided on a same-day (rather than inpatient) basis is now common in most OECD countries. Day surgery now accounts for 90% or more of all cataract surgeries in 20 of the 28 OECD countries with comparable data. But less than 60% of cataract surgeries are performed on a same-day basis in Poland, Turkey, Hungary and the Slovak Republic.

Across OECD countries, five-year survival rates for breast cancer were 85% and just over 60% for colon and rectal cancers, with survival rates improving in most countries. 54% of adults in OECD countries today are overweight, including 19% who are obese. Obesity rates are higher than 30% in Hungary, New Zealand, Mexico and the United States.