United States: Life expectancy fell sharply in 2020 due to Covid-19

Covid-19 Vaccination Center in Paterson, New Jersey on January 21, 2021. The pandemic has resulted in a significant drop in the life expectancy of Americans (Illustrative image).

AP - Seth Wenig

Text by: RFI Follow

2 min

The life expectancy of Americans fell by more than a year and a half in 2020 compared to the previous year, an unprecedented drop for 75 years, largely linked to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The life expectancy of Americans at birth has increased from 78.8 years in 2019 to 77 years in 2020. These are final figures from the Centers for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC).

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Covid-19 was the third leading cause of death in the United States in 2020, with 350,000 deaths, behind cardiovascular disease and cancer.

The gap in life expectancy between men and women has also widened, from 5.1 years in 2019 to 5.7 years in 2020: 74.2 years of life expectancy for men, against 79 , 9 for women in 2020.

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The data comes after estimates released Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau, showing that the population of the United States grew in 2021 at the slowest rate on record.

The Covid-19 pandemic has thus accelerated a fundamental trend, with fewer births and more deaths.

Between July 2020 and July 2021, the U.S. population growth was only 0.1%, according to the Census Bureau.

The US population now stands at nearly 331.9 million. 

Winning states, others losers

Another consequence of the pandemic, some states, especially in the west, have gained inhabitants, while those in the northeast, urbanized, have lost.

Texas thus recorded, in absolute value, the strongest growth, with + 1.1%, thanks mainly to the 170,000 people coming from another state and who chose to settle there.

Idaho attracted nearly 49,000 new inhabitants from another state and thus records the strongest growth in relation to its population with + 2.9%.

In contrast, New York State saw its population fall below 20 million (-1.6%).

More than 352,000 people have chosen to leave this state for another in the country.

The federal capital Washington recorded the largest population decline in percentage, at -2.9%.

These figures are an estimate, based on data from the 2020 decennial census but also birth and death certificates and immigration figures.

The 2020 census was upset by the pandemic on the one hand and by controversial methodological changes requested by former President Donald Trump on the other.

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