Shizuoka Prefecture has recorded the longest estimated average healthy life expectancy for both men and women as of 2022, at 73.75 and 76.68 years respectively, the health ministry said Tuesday.
Iwate Prefecture ranked bottom among the nation’s 47 prefectures for both men and women, at 70.93 and 74.28 years.
Every three years the ministry estimates healthy life expectancy, which represents the span of a normal life without health problems, based on a comprehensive survey of living conditions. The first estimate was based on a survey for 2010, and the latest is the fifth edition.
The nationwide average for men decreased 0.11 year from the previous survey, for 2019, to 72.57 years, while that for women went up 0.07 year, to 75.45 years.
The nationwide average life expectancy was 81.05 years for men and 87.09 years for women.
The gap between the life and healthy life expectancies shortened by 0.24 year to 8.49 years for men and by 0.43 year to 11.63 years for women from the previous estimate in 2019. The gap continued to shrink from the first estimate.
Ranked by the estimated average healthy life expectancy by prefecture for men, Ishikawa Prefecture came second, at 73.60 years, and Yamanashi Prefecture was third, at 73.47 years. For women, Yamaguchi Prefecture ranked second, at 76.43 years, and Gifu Prefecture was third, at 76.20 years.
The gap between the top and bottom prefectures in the estimated average healthy life expectancy for men grew to 2.82 years from 2.79 years in the first estimate, while that for women shrank to 2.40 years from 2.95 years.