Kuala Lumpur:A baby born in Malaysia in 2026 is projected to have an average lifespan of 75.5 years, as reported by the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM).

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the DOSM's Abridged Life Tables for Malaysia from 2024 to 2026 reveal that baby girls are expected to live up to 78.1 years on average, which is 4.9 years longer than boys, whose life expectancy is 73.2 years.

Selangor recorded the highest life expectancy at birth for both males and females from 2024 to 2026, while Terengganu had the lowest. Additionally, the states of Selangor, W.P. Kuala Lumpur, and W.P. Labuan have life expectancies exceeding the national average, with figures of 78.2, 77.3, and 77.0 years, respectively.

The DOSM noted an increase in life expectancy at birth from 2016 to 2019, with both male and female life expectancies rising by 0.4 years. However, a decline was observed in 2022, where life expectancy dropped by 0.9 years due to higher deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic.

For 2026, males aged 15 and 60 are expected to live an additional 59.0 and 18.9 years, respectively, translating to life expectancies of 74.0 and 78.9 years. Females in the same age brackets are anticipated to live 63.7 and 21.7 more years, with total life expectancies reaching 78.7 and 81.7 years.

The DOSM attributes the recent rise in life expectancy to a lower number of deaths from 2023 to 2026 compared to the years impacted by the pandemic.