Evening star., 1941-07-20
U.S.. Life Expectancy
Up 13 Years Since :
Turn Of Century
Women Average 64.5
Years, Men 60.6,
Soy Census Statistics
BY OLIVER MCKEE.

Since the turn of the century
nearly 13 years have been added
to the average life of white per-,
sons in the United States, the Gen.
sus Bureau announced yesterday.
According to new life tables, based
on mortality statistics for the period
1930-l939. the average span of life
is now 62.5 years, an increase Of
3.3 years over the previous decades.
Women account for the larger
part of this extension in the life
span. They not only live longer
but their life expectancy has been
extended year more than that Of
men.
Women now have a life expec-
fancy of GAS years, as compared
with 60.6 years for men. In 1900
the corresponding figures were 81
and 48 years. In four decades,
therefore, the average length of
life of women has been extended
1872 years, AS compared with an
increase of 1872 years for men,.
Offsets Excess Births.
Asserting itself at the very mo-
ment of birth, the lower death rate
among women continues through all
ages. The higher death rate among
men offsets the excess of male over
female births. The more rapid
lengthening of the life expectancy
of women is progressively whiting
away the male majority in the pop
ulation of the United States, which
has continued since the founding OF
the Republic. If this trend persists,
the country will soon have fe-
male majority, census experts point
out.
Though the new tables reveal
progressive lowering of the death
rates, and a corresponding increase
in the average lifetime. this does
not mean that adults today have
a life expectancy IS years greater
than in 1900. The improvement has
been most marked at age zero. and
20-year-olds can look forward to
considerably longer life than
those in this age bracket a genera
ton ago.
Little has been added, however,
to life expectancy for those reach
ing the 45-year milestone, and the
improvement at age 10 has been
imperceptible.
Complete Normal Span.
Statistics indicate that there has
been no increase in the extreme
limits of life, but that many persons
who formerly would have died in
infancy, or in early or middle life
are now completing normal life
span. the Census Bureau said, EX-
tension of the average life span Is
based solely on Improvements in
living conditions and advances in
medical science. it declared.
The chief factor contributing to
the longer life span is the decrease
in the infant death rate, which has
been cut in half during the last
40 years. During the period from
1900 to 1902, 1873 out of every 1000
white male babies died before COM
pleting their hrst year of life. Dur
ing the last decade. the rate was
only 81 per thousand. The mortal
itv rate for girl babies dropped dur
ing the same period from Ill to As.
Assuming a continuation of the
1930-l939 mortality rates throughout
the life time of a generation, 80 per
cent of the white males born alive
would reach 81 years: n per cent
would survive to age 50; 64 per cent
to age 60; A per cent to age 70; 18
per cent to age 30, and 25 per cent
would live to celebrate their Goth
birthday.
Lower Among Non-Whites.
Among non-whites, the average
life span is so years for males, and
50 years for females. These figures
are approximately 10 years below
the corresponding averages for
whites.
Non-whites show a higher NOR
tality than whites up to age rs. 1T
is open to question whether the
lower mortality above rs is a genu-
inc phenomenon due to the elimina-
ton, below that age, of greater
proportion of persons of lower vi
tality. or whether it is partly or
wholly the result of overstatement
of age in the census by aged nom
whites" the Census Bureau said
The first life tables covering the
entire continental United States
we're issued following the 1880 GEN.
sus, for the years 1929 to 1881 The
life tables issued yesterday are the
first to cover the entire country for