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From: TT
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Photo: Jonas Ekströmer / TT
About 4,800 more than expected have died this year, according to Statistics Sweden. Stock Photography.
Life expectancy in Sweden is very likely to drop this year as a result of the corona pandemic, according to a report from Statistics Sweden.
Falling between two years has been unusual since the early 1900s.
Statistics Sweden’s forecast shows that life expectancy for both women and men will likely decrease this year. From 84.7 to 84.4 years for women and from 81.3 to 80.8 years for men.
The forecast is based on the number of deaths during January to August this year.
– The forecast is relatively safe because we have data from the first eight months and, in principle, the first ten months, says Örjan Hemström, demographer at Statistics Sweden.
It is the last two months of the year that can affect the final result.
– Most likely now there will be a mortality rate slightly higher than the main assumption we made, which was based on the number of deaths during the same period last year, says Örjan Hemström.
According to Statistics Sweden, life expectancy increased steadily in Sweden during the period 1900-2019.
– It is quite unusual for life expectancy to decrease for both women and men between two years. It’s been a bit more common for women to decline in the 2000s, it has happened a few times. But for men, it has increased every year between the late 80s and 2015, says Örjan Hemström.
Between January 1 and August 31 this year, there were almost 6,500 more deaths than during the same period in 2019. There are 4,800 more deaths than expected according to the latest population projection for 2020, writes Statistics Sweden.
– It is important to remember that we had an unusually large increase in life expectancy in 2019 compared to 2018, so it will now be an unusually large decrease. In a broader perspective, it appears to return to a more uniform decline in the mortality rate, leading to an increase in life expectancy.
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