Singapore now world No. 4 in longevity ranking

Singapore has an average life expectancy at birth of 82, making it a joint fourth with Italy on a latest World Health Organization ranking, local daily Straits Times reported on Monday.

Women here can expect to live to 85 and men to the age of 80.

Japan tops the ranking with an average life expectancy of 83, with a female life expectancy of 86 and a male life expectancy of 82. Switzerland and San Marino were both among the top three.

The global average is 70.

Sierra Leone fared worst with a mere 47 years.

Professor Chia Kee Seng, dean of the Saw Swee Hock School of Public Health, said Singapore now needs to focus on extending the quality of life through preventing and delaying the onset of chronic diseases and, where they exist, slowing down their progression.

The World Health Organization report also compares current life expectancy to that in 1990 and 2000.

In 1990, Singapore was 29th in the world with an average life expectancy of 75.

Chia Shi Lu, a member of the government parliamentary committee for health, said a "key factor" in Singapore's longevity "is the excellent child and maternal health services and childhood disease prevention programs."

The republic has one of the lowest infant mortality rates of 2. 59 deaths per 1,000 live births and maternal death rates in the world.