The sheer numbers mean many more people will live to a very old age. But American life expectancy is far from the highest in the world, ranking 21st globally. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's International Programs Center, the life expectancy of a U.S. citizen born in 1996 is 76, a few years behind most European countries, Canada, Israel and Singapore. Japan is the champ at 80. And that makes a big difference.
Vagaries lie behind some of the numbers.
For instance, children in Japan who are born alive but die within a few hours are counted as fetal deaths, not infant deaths, reducing the country's infant mortality figures and thus raising the average life expectancy. Life expectancy has climbed significantly in the past century. Census Bureau analyses show that in 1900, the average life expectancy across the planet was less than 30 years. By 1950 it had climbed to 46. By the late 1990s it was 66.