Average Life Expectancy Predicted to Pass 90 by 2030

The future is looking bright...and long for many. A new study published in Lancet has revealed that people who will be born in the year 2030 will have a longer life expectancy.

Researchers at the Imperial College London ran data from 35 industrialized countries through 21 different forecasting models to predict the average lifespan. Results showed that South Korea is projected to have the highest life expectancy -- 90.8 years for baby girls and 84.1 years for baby boys born in 2030.

On average, all women at birth will reach 85 years for most of the countries included in the study. The lifespan of a 65-year-old person in 2030 was also calculated. Results showed that they may live an additional of more than 20 years.

Professor Majid Ezzati, lead researcher from the School of Public Health at Imperial College London, noted that it was previously thought that breaking the 90-year average lifespan is impossible.

"We repeatedly hear that improvements in human longevity are about to come to an end. Many people used to believe that 90 years is the upper limit for life expectancy, but this research suggests we will break the 90-year-barrier. I don't believe we're anywhere near the upper limit of life expectancy -- if there even is one," Ezzati said in a statement.

The study notes that the improvement of lifespan may be attributed to innovation and new technologies and revolutionary medicine that could improve the health condition of humans.

Meanwhile, among the high-income countries included in the study, the U.S. will have the lowest life expectancy at birth, with an average of 83.3 years for women and 79.5 years for men.

The researchers also observed that the gap in life expectancy between women and men is nearing. It is because their lifestyles are becoming more similar as time passes by.

Science Alert reported that the oldest human record is currently held by a French woman named Jeanne Calment, who lived up to 122 years. The study was conducted in collaboration with the World Health Organization.