Shanghai's average life expectancy sees rise

The average life expectancy of the registered population in Shanghai is 84.11 years, a rise of 1.7 years from that of 2012, official said on Thursday.

The extension in average life expectancy was attributed to the city's establishment of a public health service system that ensures people's life and health, said Shen Wei, Party secretary of the education and public health work commission of Shanghai Municipality.

The extension of life expectation in Shanghai coincides with a drop of life expectancy in the US, EU and Japan.

US life expectancy at birth dipped 0.9 years to 76.1 years in 2021 from 77 of 2020, the lowest since 1996, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Shanghai Observer reported.

Life expectancy at birth in the EU was 80.4 years in 2020, a decline of 0.9 years from a year ago, the China News Service reported, citing data from the Eurostat.

Life expectancy in Japan fell for the first time in a decade, with the average life expectancy at 87.57 years for women and 81.47 years for men in 2021, according to Japan's Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare, said a Global Times report.

The city of Shanghai has formed a health service network of 6,317 public health organizations and 239,600 medical personnel, which protect people's health, life and safety in various respects around the clock, said Shen.

In the meantime, Shanghai has also basically achieved its goal for general education modernization.

Currently, regular school numbers have increased by 245 to 3,432 from a decade ago. There are 3.01 million students receiving education at schools in Shanghai, 451,000 more than that of 2012. And the total number of full time teachers has increased 51,500 to 232,700 teachers during the same period, Shen said.