U.S. Decennial Life Tables for 2009-2011, United States Life Tables

Objectives-This report presents period life tables for the United States, based on age-specific death rates for the period 2009-2011. These tables are the most recent in a 110-year series of decennial life tables for the United States. Methods-This report presents complete life tables for the United States by race, Hispanic origin, and sex, based on age- specific death rates during 2009-2011. This is the first set of life tables by Hispanic origin presented in the U.S. decennial life table series. Data used to prepare these life tables include population estimates based on the 2010 decennial census; deaths occurring in the United States to U.S. residents in the 3 years 2009 through 2011; counts of U.S. resident births in the years 2007 through 2011; and population and death counts from the Medicare program for years 2009 through 2011. The methodology used to estimate life tables for the Hispanic population is based on the method first implemented with the 2006 annual U.S. life tables by Hispanic origin. The methodology used to estimate the life tables for all other groups is based on the method first implemented with the 2008 annual U.S. life tables. Results-During 2009-2011, life expectancy at birth was 78.60 years for the total U.S. population, representing an increase of 29.36 years from a life expectancy of 49.24 years in 1900. Between 1900 and 2010, life expectancy increased by 42.88 years for black females (from 35.04 to 77.92), by 39.21 years for black males (from 32.54 to 71.75), by 30.15 years for white females (from 51.08 to 81.23), and by 28.26 years for white males (from 48.23 to 76.49). During 2009-2011, Hispanic females had the highest life expectancy at birth (84.05), followed by non-Hispanic white females (81.06), Hispanic males (78.83), non-Hispanic black females (77.62), non-Hispanic white males (76.30), and non-Hispanic black males (71.41).