How does Covid-19 affect human life expectancy?

The pandemic has dramatically reshaped human life expectancy, with a more severe reduction than previous studies suggested.

A study published on March 12 showed that the Covid-19 pandemic has reduced the average life expectancy of people worldwide by 1.6 years in 2020 - 2021.

This marks the first reversal in a decades-long period of rising global life expectancy, according to researchers who sifted through data from the US-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME).

Covid-19 has reduced the average life expectancy of people worldwide by 1.6 years. (Photo: Getty).

"For older adults around the world, the Covid-19 pandemic has had a more profound impact than any other event in the past half century, including conflicts and natural disasters," said Professor Austin Schumacher, lead author of the study.

In a statement, he said that between 2020 and 2021, life expectancy fell in 84% of the 204 countries and territories analyzed.

This demonstrates the potentially devastating effects of new virus strains.

The researchers also estimated that mortality rates among people over 15 increased by 22% for men and 17% for women during this time. Cities in Mexico, Peru and Bolivia saw the biggest declines in life expectancy.

Researchers estimate that Covid-19 caused more than 15.9 million deaths in 2020-2021, including direct and indirect infections.

However, this is more like a generational shift, or a demographic shift between countries. That's because while the populations of many rich, aging countries have been shrinking, populations have continued to grow in less wealthy countries.

Professor Schumacher warns that this will bring unprecedented social, economic and political challenges, such as labour shortages in areas where the young population is shrinking, or resource scarcity in areas where the population continues to expand rapidly.