Average life expectancy in Russia has reached 73 years, a top health official said on Thursday.
Russia plans to spend 1.7 trillion rubles ($26.68 billion) on dramatically improving health care to accomplish President Vladimir Putin’s goal of raising life expectancy to 78 years by the time his term ends in 2024.
Average life expectancy rose to more than 73 years in 2018, Olga Tkacheva, the Health Ministry’s chief of geriatrics, told the state-run RIA Novosti news agency.
Official demographics for 2018 are expected later in 2019.
The latest available data says average life expectancy rose to 72.7 years in 2017, or 67.51 for men and 77.64 for women.
“This issue has to be addressed in all age groups – infant, middle-age and elderly mortality has to be reduced,” Tkacheva was quoted as saying.
Russia was ranked the world’s 95th healthiest out of 169 countries in Bloomberg’s 2019 index last month.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
