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Old 01-17-2011, 11:01 AM
Machine Elf Machine Elf is offline
Join Date: Feb 2007
Location: Challenger Deep
Posts: 10,422
Life expectancy histogram?

Life expectancy in the US is approaching 80 years. This is of course an average; some people die shortly after being born, while others live for well over a century, and everyone else dies at some in-between age.

Anyone know where I can view something like a life expectancy histogram, for the US and/or the world? This might be a complicated thing, since life expectancy is often calculated differently depending on one's current age. How about something simpler: is there a histogram showing the age, at death, for all people who died in the past year or decade?

I'm curious to see the shape of such a histogram. For example:
-If life expectancy is (for example) 75, do the vast majority of people die within +- 5 years of that age, or is the spread much greater?
-Is there a very large infant mortality spike at the low end of the histogram? What about teen years, when kids are old enough to do dangerous things but not yet smart enough to do them safely?