Notes:

The chart displays the female life expectancy at birth minus the male life expectancy at birth. For almost all countries of the world, female life expectancy is significantly higher than male life expectancy.

These charts include the 196 countries and territories with a population of 100,000 or more in 2009.

(1) Number of deaths in 1000 (during five-year period).

(2) The crude death rate is the number of deaths over a given period divided by the person-years lived by the population over that period. It is expressed as number of deaths per 1,000 population.

(3) The life expectancy at birth is the average number of years of life expected by a hypothetical cohort of individuals who would be subject during all their lives to the mortality rates of a given period. It is expressed as years and is available for males and females separately. The difference between male and female life expectancy at birth is also expressed in years.

(4) The infant mortality is the probability of dying between birth and exact age 1. It is expressed as deaths per 1,000 births.

(5) The under-five mortality is the probability of dying between birth and exact age 5. It is expressed as deaths per 1000 births.

Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2011): World Population Prospects: The 2010 Revision. New York

(Updated: 4 May 2011)