SEOUL, Dec. 1 (Xinhua) -- South Koreans' life expectancy fell for the first time in over 50 years last year on the back of the COVID-19 pandemic, statistical office data showed Friday.
The average life expectancy of babies born in 2022 came in at 82.7 years, down 0.9 years compared to the previous year, according to Statistics Korea.
It marked the first slide since relevant data began to be compiled in 1970. The life expectancy at birth reached 62.3 years in 1970, topping 80 years for the first time in 2009.
Male and female babies were forecast to live 79.9 years and 85.6 years each last year.
After peaking at 8.6 years in 1985, the gender gap in life expectancy had been on the decline.
Cancer accounted for the largest share of 18.1 percent in terms of the cause of death in 2022, followed by heart disease with 9.5 percent and the COVID-19 with 9.4 percent.
The figure for the pandemic was sharply up compared with 1.6 percent tallied in 2021. ■
