Life expectancy in parts of China exceeds the US. How does your country compare?

One of the less discussed aspects of China’s rapid economic development is the boom it has brought for health and longevity. A new study from medical journal The Lancet provides one of the most detailed pictures yet of the state of Chinese health.

Behind the headline figure of a jump in life expectancy of 68 in 1990 to 76 in 2013 lies some fascinating details.

• In Shanghai, life expectancy is now 83 — on a par with that of Switzerland.
• There are now six provinces — Shanghai, Tianjin, Zhejiang, Beijing, Hong Kong, and Macao — that have higher life expectancies than the US or South Korea.
• Tibet has shown huge improvement with a life expectancy of 70 in 2013 against 56 in 1990.

To highlight the progress made, The Economist has taken the data and created a map showing the life expectancy of each province and matched it to that of another nation. Viewed through this prism, much of China’s eastern seaboard looks like Northern Europe.

Author: Donald Armbrecht is a freelance writer and social media producer.

Image: A couple takes pictures with their baby on the Tiananmen Gate in Beijing. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon