Record high U.S. life expectancy

In 1996 life expectancy in the United States rose to a record high of 75.9 years for all persons combined. A new peak was also recorded among newborn boys--72.8 years--while average future lifetime for infant girls increased to 79.0 years--0.1 year shy of the 1992 record of 79.1 years. In recent years longevity gains among males have outpaced those for females, with the result that the sex differential in longevity at birth in favor of females has narrowed considerably. In 1996 newborn girls could anticipate living 6.2 years longer than boys--the gap was 6.8 years in 1992 and 7.0 years in 1990. Projections indicate that the trend in longevity improvements in favor of males will continue. As a consequence, the sex differential gap in average future lifetime is anticipated to diminish to 4.6 years by 2050.