Life expectancy rate for males and females in Nigeria witnessed a gradual and continuous increase from 2015 to 2022, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

This is contained in the 7th Edition of the NBS Demographic Statistics Bulletin 2022 released in Abuja on Tuesday.

The statistical bulletin presents an updated version of previous key demographic indicators such as population, trafficking in persons, fertility, mortality, reproductive health issues and health records, remittances inflows and outflows, and NIN registration in Nigeria from 2019-2022.

It said life expectancy at birth for males grew from 53.2 years in 2015 to 55.1 years in 2022, while life expectancy for females increased from 55.3 years in 2015 to 57.2 years in 2022.

“It is important to note that the life expectancy at birth for the female population in Nigeria is higher than the male population.

“The life expectancy of females exceeded males by 2.1 years each in 2021 and 2022.

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“These increases indicate that there have been improvements over the period in the well-being of women and children (both males and females) as well as improvements in Nigeria’s healthcare system.

“It also shows that there was a decline in cause-specific mortality rate.”

The NBS said to further improve life expectancy at birth in Nigeria, there was a need for the government to invest in highly cost-effective health-promoting policies and interventions.

It said the investment should be especially in upgrading healthcare for women and children, improving child nutrition, reducing indoor and outdoor air pollution, addressing unmet family planning needs, improving access to safe drinking water, etc.

The Star