Malaysians' life expectancy at 74.7 years in 2016

The life expectancy of Malaysian residents continues to rise, reaching 74.7 years in 2016 compared to 72.2 years in 2000.

The Statistics Department said a male child born in 2016 can expect to live up to 72.6 years, compared to 71.9 years in 2010, while a female child, up to 77.2 years or up 0.6 years compared to 76.6 years in 2010.

"The difference in life expectancy at birth between the genders is an interval of 4.6 to 4.7 years throughout 2010 till 2016," said the department in a statement Monday.

It said a man who is 65 years old in 2016 is expected to live for a further 14.9 years while for a woman, 16.9 years.

"This means that a man aged 65 can expect to live up to 79.9 years and for a woman, up to 81.9 years," it said.

Meanwhile, all ethnic groups in the country also recorded a rise in life expectancy at birth in the period from 2010 till 2016.

The department said the Chinese community recorded the highest life expectancy at birth, at 77.3 years, followed by the Bumiputera community (73.6 years) and Indian community (71.8 years).

It said the highest life expectancy according to gender was also recorded among the Chinese at 75.0 years for male and 79.9 years for female.

The lowest life expectancy was recorded among the Indian community, at 67.8 years for male and 76.0 years for female, according to the department. -- Bernama