The global health landscape continues to evolve and people are living longer. Following the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, global life expectancy has returned to close to pre-pandemic levels. At the same time, noncommunicable diseases (NCDs) account for an increasing share of deaths, with conditions such as diabetes, dementia, mental health conditions and drug use disorders contributing to a growing and changing burden of disease. 

WHO’s latest Global Health Estimates, released today, provide a picture of how health has changed across countries and regions between 2000 and 2023, including trends in life expectancy, causes of death and disease burden. 

Global health is recovering, but not all gains have returned  

Global life expectancy reached 73.3 years in 2023, close to the 73.4 years recorded in 2019. Healthy life expectancy has recovered more slowly, reaching 62.8 years in 2023, still 0.4 years below its 2019 level. 

At the same time, the long-term shift towards NCDs continues. NCDs accounted for 74% of deaths globally in 2023, compared with 58% in 2000. Eight of the world’s ten leading causes of death were NCDs in 2023.