The life expectancy for Qidong residents has increased to an average 82.74 years of age, according to a recent local media report.

The term “life expectancy” is an important health status indicator, based on average number of years a person at a given age may be expected to live given current mortality rates.

The most common measure of life expectancy is life expectancy at birth -- which is defined as how long, on average, a newborn can expect to live, if the current mortality rate does not change. Life expectancy at birth reflects the overall mortality level of a population. 

According to the local media report, Qidong residents’ life expectancy at birth was 82.74 years in 2018. For males, the figure is 80.03 years, while it is 85.47 years for females. 

The indicator life expectancy is often used to evaluate the overall condition and the health status for a population group, and to evaluate economic and social development, as well as medical services in a region or country. 

According to a document issued by the State Council in 2016, the Chinese life expectancy at birth should aim to reach 77.3 years by 2020, and 79.0 years of age by 2030. 

The life expectancy at birth for Qidong residents is only 1.46 years less than that in Japan, which ranks first place among all countries in the world in terms of life expectancy at birth, according to the latest statistics released by the World Health Organization.

The city now has 252 centenarians on record, according to local authorities in Qidong, a county-level city in Nantong, in eastern China’s Jiangsu province.