Life Expectancy Gains and Public Programs for the Elderly in Latin America and the Caribbean

1 Life expectancy in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) has increased dramatically since 1950, largely as a result of medical and public health interventions that sharply cut the death toll from the most virulent infectious diseases and enabled many more children to survive to adulthood. Longer lives have combined with lower fertility to produce profound shifts in the age composition of country populations: As people live longer and women have fewer children older people have begun to represent a growing proportion of the total population in the region and children a shrinking share. The National Institute on Aging (NIA) supports research that examines the social and economic implications of life expectancy trends and population aging. This newsletter highlights the work of NIA-supported researchers and others that can help policymakers plan for the well-being of aging populations in LAC countries, as well as offer insights to policymakers in other lowand middle-income countries. Life Expectancy Trends Life expectancy at birth in the LAC region rose from 52 in the early 1950s to 73 in the 2005 to 2010 period, though wide variation occurs across countries (United Nations 2013). For example, in this same period, life expectancy in the region ranged from lows of 61 in Haiti and 66 in Bolivia to 78 or more in Chile, Costa Rica, and Cuba (see Table 1). Life expectancy also varies by gender (see Box 1, page 2). Success combating infectious disease fueled much of the increase in life expectancy over the last six decades. The impact on child survival in the region has been dramatic. Infant mortality dropped from 128 deaths per 1,000 live births in 1950 to 22 per 1,000 in 2010 (Saad 2011). By 2010, 98 percent of children reached their first birthday, while in 1950 only about 87 percent did. Among adults, infectious diseases also “plummeted,” leading to increases in life expectancy among adults of all ages (Palloni and