Babies born in UK live nearly twice as long as babies in Sierra Leone

Babies born in the UK today have a greater life expectancy than ever before and are likely to enjoy nearly twice the lifetime of babies born in Sierra Leone. Boys in the UK are likely to live to 77, according to new figures from the World Health Organisation, while girls can expect to reach 82. It’s a sharp contrast with results for the West African country of Sierra Leone, which has the world's shortest life expectancy for men at 39.

In the UK, both sexes have seen life expectancy increase by four years over the last 17 years. In 1990, a boy born in Britain would expect to live to 73, while a girl would reach 78. The increase is in line with other European nations such as France and Germany, which have seen similar improvements. But like Sierra Leone, in other African countries, life expectancy has plummeted since 1990, most notably Zimbabwe where Robert Mugabe's regime has been blamed for ruining the country. Zimbabwean men live to 45 on average, down from 57 in 1990, while the life expectancy of women in the country fell by 19 years to 44.

However the latest figures show dramatic improvements in many other African countries once ravaged by disease or war. Greater access to medicine to treat diseases such as malaria is seen as one of the main factors for the improved life expectancy. For example Eritrean men increased their average life span by 33 years to 61, and women went up by 12 years to 65. In Liberia, the figure for men jumped 29 years to 54, and rose 13 years to 58 for women.

In Europe, men in Russia have the lowest life expectancy, at 60, with alcoholism blamed for many early deaths. However, life expectancy for men in France is up four years since 1990 to 77, while women have risen to 84. Italian men may now expect to live to 79, up from 74 in 1990, and women have a life expectancy of 84.

In Australia, men have a life expectancy of 79, an increase of five years since 1990, while women are expected to live to 84. American women have one of the smallest increases, from 79 in 1990 to 81 in 2007. Men are up to 76 from 72. Some of the shortest life expectancies recorded by the WHO were in war-ravaged Afghanistan. Men there live on average to 41 while women survive on average one year longer.Women in Japan who have the world's longest life expectancy at 86. Men were found to fare best in the tiny nation of San Marino, in the Apennine mountains of Italy, where a boy born today should live to 81.

By Hayley Jarvis for SOS Children