In recent decades, all regions of the world have seen substantial progress in life expectancy at birth, which was estimated to be at 72.8 years in 2019 compared with 64.2 years three decades ago. As importantly, life expectancy has increased at all ages such that a person at age 65 in 2019 was likely to live 6.2 years longer than in the early 1950s (United Nations, 2022). But life expectancy differs significantly across countries and within them. Inequalities in health and in life expectancy across countries have received attention from the international community, which recognized that such inequalities are unfair and beyond an individual?s control. Assessing country-level inequality in…
UN DESA Policy Brief No. 145: On the importance of monitoring inequality in life expectancy
The world has changed enormously over the past 80 years?we are richer and more interconnected than ever before, yet we also face unprecedented challenges, notably the climate and biodiversity crises. The Earth is hotter than it has ever been, with the warmest seven years occurring since 2015. The state of biodiversity is doing no better, with roughly a quarter of species assessed facing a high risk of extinction in the near future.
Despite the brave new world that humanity now faces, one thing has remained steadfast over these past 80 years?our use of gross domestic product (GDP) in decision making. Gross domestic product is perhaps the most well-known and used statistic in the world.…
UN DESA Policy Brief No. 144: Moving Beyond GDP and Achieving Our Common Agenda with Natural Capital Accounting
Energy crisis poses threat to Europe?s industrial sector
Europe is facing a difficult and uncertain economic outlook. Governments, households, and firms are grappling with the energy and cost-of-living crisis that was aggravated by the war in Ukraine. As high energy prices are increasingly feeding through to other sectors of the economy, inflationary pressures have become more broad-based. In October 2022, year-on-year consumer price inflation in the European Union climbed to a record high of 11.5 per cent. The cost of energy remained the biggest driver of overall inflation, with energy prices rising by 38.7 per cent from a year ago. Core inflation ? excluding energy, food, alcohol, and…
World Economic Situation and Prospects: December 2022 Briefing, No. 167
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