Singapore (N) has the world’s longest, healthiest lives — but also more years in poor health
Thursday, July 23, 2026
新加坡人均寿命冠全球 但“带病生活”时间拉长至11.2年
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/news/singapore/story20260722-9403794?utm_source=android-share&utm_medium=app
Singapore has the world’s longest, healthiest lives — but also more years in poor health
https://medicine.nus.edu.sg/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/2026-07-22-Press-release-NUS-IHME-GBD-Morbidity-in-Singapore_final.pdf
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PRESS RELEASE
22 JULY 2026 | FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Singapore has the world’s longest, healthiest lives — but also more years in poor health
A global study found that Singapore ranked first in the world in 2023 for both life expectancy, at 85.4 years, and healthy life expectancy, at 74.1 years. However, the gap between the two widened to 11.2 years, up from 8.9 years in 1990, with women living longer than men but spending more years in poor health.
Singapore, 22 July 2026 — Singaporeans have the world’s highest life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, but a growing number of years are spent in poor health, according to a new global study led by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), in collaboration with the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore (NUS Medicine). Analysing 204 countries from 1990 to 2023, the study finds that the morbidity gap, which refers to the gap between how long people live and how long they live in good health, has widened in almost all countries, including Singapore, which has the world’s longest and healthiest lives. This represents an increase of approximately 2.35 years, or 26.6%, in the morbidity gap, based on the study’s unrounded estimates, compared with a global increase of 21.9%.
Published in The Lancet Public Health, the findings suggest that while Singapore has made substantial progress in preventing early deaths and extending life, improvements in the number of years spent in good health have not kept pace with its gains in longevity.
Associate Professor Marie Ng, Director, NUS-IHME Global Burden of Disease Research Centre, NUS Medicine, and a co-author of the study, said, “Singapore’s position as a global leader in life expectancy and healthy life expectancy is a major public health achievement. However, the widening morbidity gap shows that living longer does not automatically mean that every additional year is lived in good health. The next frontier for Singapore is therefore not simply to add more years to life, but to reduce the burden of chronic illness, disability, and functional decline across the life course. This will require stronger prevention, earlier intervention, rehabilitation, and sustained support to help people remain healthy and independent as they age.”
A trend observed globally
Estimates indicated that the morbidity gap widened in 203 of the 204 countries and territories studied. Globally, life expectancy increased from 64.6 years in 1990 to 73.8 years in 2023. Healthy life expectancy also improved, rising from 55.9 to 63.1 years. However, as total life expectancy increased more quickly, the global morbidity gap widened from 8.8 to 10.7 years, which is an increase of 1.9 years, or 21.9%. In 2023, people worldwide spent an average of 14.5% of their lives in poor health, compared with 13.6% in 1990.
The results challenge the “compression of morbidity” hypothesis, which proposes that advances in prevention and healthcare would delay illness and disability, concentrating them into a shorter period near the end of life. Instead, the study found that non-fatal health loss has generally accumulated across adulthood, rather than being confined to the final years of life.
Women live longer but spend more years in poor health
The study also highlighted a persistent difference between women and men. In Singapore, women had an estimated life expectancy of 87.5 years in 2023, compared with 83.1 years for men. However, women spent an estimated 12.1 years in poor health, compared with 10.4 years among men. This mirrors the global “gender health paradox”, in which women generally live longer than men but experience more years with illness and disability. Globally, the morbidity gap reached 12.1 years for women and 9.3 years for men in 2023.
Professor Simon Hay, first author of the study and Director of Research Strategy at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, said, “Over the past three decades, the world has achieved remarkable gains in survival, but gains in healthspan have not kept pace. For most populations, the additional years of life gained are accompanied by more years lived with illness or disability. This does not diminish the importance of preventing deaths, but highlights that the definition of public health progress must broaden. Health systems should be assessed not only by how many deaths they prevent, but also by whether people are able to live longer with good health, mobility, and independence.”
Leading causes and risk factors
Globally, five predominantly non-fatal groups of conditions accounted for 57.4% of the morbidity gap in 2023: musculoskeletal disorders, particularly low back pain; mental disorders, including depression and anxiety; sense organ diseases such as age-related hearing loss; unintentional injuries, especially falls; and other non-communicable diseases. The leading global risk factors included high fasting plasma glucose, high body-mass index, child and maternal malnutrition, tobacco use, and air pollution. The relative importance of these risks differed according to countries’ income and socio-demographic development.
In Singapore, the causes contributing most to its morbidity gap were musculoskeletal disorders, mental disorders, unintentional injuries, sense organ diseases and cardiovascular diseases. The five leading risk factors were high fasting plasma glucose, high body-mass index, occupational risks, high systolic blood pressure and dietary risks. These findings highlight the importance of preventing and managing diabetes and metabolic disease, obesity, hypertension, unhealthy diets, workplace-related health risks, mental health conditions, falls, hearing loss, and musculoskeletal problems.
Assoc Prof Ng added, “Singapore has an opportunity to lead not only in how long people live, but in how long they live well. The conditions contributing most to the morbidity gap are often non-fatal, but they can have a profound effect on people’s independence, ability to work, and quality of life. Tracking healthy life expectancy and the morbidity gap can help policymakers identify where additional attention and resources are needed, and whether programmes are successfully turning added years of life into added years of good health.”
For media enquiries, please contact:
Shaun YEE
Senior Executive, Communications
Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine,
National University of Singapore
DID: +65 9012 1928
Email: shaun.yee@nus.edu.sg
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About National University of Singapore (NUS)
The National University of Singapore (NUS) is Singapore’s flagship university, which offers a global approach to education, research, and entrepreneurship, with a focus on Asian perspectives and expertise. We have 15 colleges, faculties, and schools across three campuses in Singapore, with more than 40,000 students from 100 countries enriching our vibrant and diverse campus community. We have also established our NUS Overseas Colleges programme in more than 15 cities around the world.
Our multidisciplinary and real-world approach to education, research, and entrepreneurship enables us to work closely with industry, governments, and academia to address crucial and complex issues relevant to Asia and the world. Researchers in our faculties, 30 university-level research institutes, research centres of excellence and corporate labs focus on themes that include energy; environmental and urban sustainability; treatment and prevention of diseases; active ageing; advanced materials; risk management and resilience of financial systems; Asian studies; and Smart Nation capabilities such as artificial intelligence, data science, operations research, and cybersecurity.
For more information on NUS, please visit www.nus.edu.sg.
About the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine (NUS Medicine)
The NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine is Singapore’s first and largest medical school. Our enduring mission centres on nurturing highly competent, values-driven, and inspired healthcare professionals to transform the practice of medicine and improve health around the world.
Through a dynamic and future-oriented five-year curriculum that is inter-disciplinary and interprofessional in nature, our students undergo a holistic learning experience that exposes them to multiple facets of healthcare and prepares them to become visionary leaders and compassionate doctors and nurses of tomorrow. Since the School’s founding in 1905, more than 120,000 graduates have passed through our doors.
In our pursuit of health for all, our strategic research programmes focus in innovative, cutting-edge biomedical research with collaborators around the world to deliver high impact solutions to benefit human lives.
The School is the oldest institution of higher learning in the National University Health System. It is one of the leading medical schools in Asia and ranks among the best in the world (Times Higher Education World University Rankings 2026 by subject and the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) World University Rankings by Subject 2026).
For more information about NUS Medicine, please visit https://medicine.nus.edu.sg/
Singapore has achieved the world’s longest life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, but the average duration residents spend living with illness or disability has expanded to 11.2 years
Information source:
https://share.google/aimode/qLVC1d2dUHCgXVBr0
Singapore has achieved the world’s longest life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, but the average duration residents spend living with illness or disability has expanded to 11.2 years. [1]
According to data from the Global Burden of Disease Study released by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) in partnership with the National University of Singapore (NUS) Medicine, Singapore's "morbidity gap"—the time spent in poor health before the end of life—widened by 2.3 years compared to 1990 data. This confirms that while local healthcare developments are excellent at preventing deaths, gains in "healthspan" (years lived in good health) are failing to match gains in overall lifespan. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
Breakdown of the Lifespan vs. Healthspan Gap
The expanding gap highlights a major challenge for Singapore's aging population: [6]
- The Morbidity Gap: The average resident now spends 11.2 years in ill health, a 26.6% increase from the 8.9-year gap recorded in 1990. [1]
- The Gender Health Paradox: Women in Singapore live longer but endure more years of illness. The average life expectancy for women is 87.5 years, with 12.1 years spent in poor health. In contrast, men have a life expectancy of 83.1 years, spending 10.4 years in poor health. [3]
- Accumulated Health Loss: The data challenges the traditional "compression of morbidity" theory, which assumes health issues are compressed into the final moments of life. Instead, illness and functional limitations are slowly building up across adulthood. [3]
Top Causes and Global Context
The issue is not unique to Singapore; the morbidity gap widened in 203 out of 204 countries and territories evaluated in the global study. [1, 3]
| Factor | Key Insights |
|---|---|
| Main Conditions Causing Disability | Chronic musculoskeletal disorders (like low back pain), mental health conditions (depression and anxiety), age-related hearing loss, and injuries from falls. |
| Primary Health Risk Drivers | High fasting blood glucose, high body mass index (BMI), tobacco use, and air pollution. |
| Systemic Impact | Longevity shifts the medical focus from acute care to long-term disease management, community independence, and mobility maintenance. |
To counter these shifts, Singapore has rolled out nationwide preventive frameworks like Healthier SG to focus heavily on early intervention, family physician enrollment, and active aging. [7, 8, 9, 10, 11]
If you are researching this for a project or policy review, please let me know if you would like to explore Singapore's preventive healthcare strategies, the economic costs of the aging workforce, or how other top-ranking countries manage healthspan.
Singapore Ranks First Globally in Life Expectancy but Years Lived with Illness Extend to 11.2 Years
Study: Singapore Ranks First Globally in Life Expectancy but Years Lived with Illness Extend to 11.2 Years
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Information source:
研究：新加坡人均寿命冠全球 但“带病生活”时间拉长至11.2年
2026-07-22
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/news/singapore/story20260722-9403794?utm_source=android-share&utm_medium=app
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Singaporeans not only have the world's highest life expectancy but also the world's longest healthy life expectancy. However, as the population lives longer, the number of years people spend living with illness is also increasing. Although women live longer than men, they also spend more years living with illness.
A global study led by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington in the United States, in collaboration with the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore (NUS), found that Singapore's life expectancy reached 85.4 years in 2023, while healthy life expectancy stood at 74.1 years, ranking first in the world for both measures.
However, the gap between the two—known as the "health burden gap"—has widened to 11.2 years, an increase of 2.3 years from 8.9 years in 1990, representing a 26.6% rise, which is higher than the global average increase of 21.9%.
The health burden gap refers to the difference between a person's life expectancy and healthy life expectancy—that is, the average number of years a person is expected to live with illness, disability, or poor health before the end of life.
The study analyzed data from 204 countries and territories between 1990 and 2023. It found that the health burden gap widened in 203 of the 204 countries and territories. Because life expectancy has increased faster than healthy life expectancy, the global average number of years lived with illness has risen from 8.8 years to 10.7 years.
The study was published on Wednesday (July 22) in the international medical journal The Lancet Public Health.
Associate Professor Marie Ng , Director of the Global Burden of Disease Centre at the Health Statistics and Evaluation Research Institute under the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, said that the widening health burden gap reflects the fact that living longer does not necessarily mean that every additional year is spent in good health. Singapore's next challenge is not only to extend lifespan but also to reduce the burden of chronic diseases, disability, and physical decline, helping Singaporeans maintain good health and independent living as they age.
Musculoskeletal Disorders Rank First; High Blood Sugar Becomes the Top Risk Factor
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Local women not only live longer than men but also spend more years living with illness. In 2023, women's life expectancy in Singapore was estimated at 87.5 years, compared with 83.1 years for men. However, women spent an average of 12.1 years in poor health, compared with 10.4 years for men—a difference of about 1.7 years. This is consistent with the globally observed "gender health paradox," in which women generally live longer but experience more years of illness and disability.
The diseases contributing most to Singapore's health burden gap are, in order, musculoskeletal disorders, mental disorders, unintentional injuries, sensory disorders, and cardiovascular diseases. The top five risk factors are high fasting blood glucose, high Body Mass Index (BMI), occupational risks, high systolic blood pressure, and dietary risks.
These findings indicate that Singapore should continue strengthening the prevention and management of diabetes, metabolic diseases, obesity, hypertension, unhealthy diets, work-related health risks, mental health issues, falls, hearing loss, and musculoskeletal disorders.
Associate Professor Marie Ng pointed out that many of the diseases contributing to the health burden gap are not directly fatal, but they can severely affect a person's ability to live independently, work, and maintain a good quality of life. Continuously monitoring healthy life expectancy and the health burden gap can help policymakers identify areas where greater resources should be invested.
Reported by Veron Ng Ying Chuan
新加坡国人人均寿命冠全球但“带病生活”拉长至11.2年
2026-7-22
https://www.zaobao.com.sg/news/singapore/story20260722-9403794?utm_source=android-share&utm_medium=app
研究：国人人均寿命冠全球
但“带病生活”拉长至11.2年
新加坡人不仅拥有全球最长的预期寿命，也拥有全球最长的健康寿命，但随着人口越来越长寿，国人带病生活的时间也越来越长。其中，女性虽然比男性长寿，却要度过更长的带病岁月。
由美国华盛顿大学健康指标与评估研究所主导，并与新加坡国立大学杨潞龄医学院合作开展的一项全球研究显示，我国在2023年的人口预期寿命达到85.4岁，健康预期寿命则为74.1岁，双双位居全球第一。
然而，两者之间的“疾病负担差距”已扩大至11.2年，较1990年的8.9年增加2.3年，增幅达26.6%，高于全球21.9%的平均增幅。
疾病负担差距，是指一个人的预期寿命与健康预期寿命之间的差距，也就是在生命结束前，平均有多少年是在疾病、失能或健康欠佳的状态下度过。
研究分析1990年至2023年全球204个国家和地区的数据，其中203个国家和地区的疾病负担差距都在扩大。由于人均寿命的增长速度快于健康寿命，全球平均带病生活年数已由8.8年延长至10.7年。
这项研究星期三（7月22日）在国际医学期刊《柳叶刀—公共卫生》发表。
国大杨潞龄医学院旗下的卫生统计评估研究所全球疾病负担研究中心主任吴丹虹副教授说，疾病负担差距扩大，反映活得更久，并不代表每增加的一年都能保持健康。我国下一阶段面对的挑战，不只是延长寿命，而是减少慢性疾病、失能和身体功能退化所带来的负担，帮助国人在老龄化过程中维持健康和独立生活的能力。
肌肉骨骼疾病居首
高血糖成头号风险
另外，本地女性虽然比男性长寿，但带病生活的时间也更长。本地女性预期寿命在2023年估计为87.5岁，高于男性的83.1岁；不过，女性平均有12.1年处于健康欠佳状态，男性则为10.4年，相差约1.7年。这与全球普遍存在的“性别健康悖论”一致，即女性一般寿命较长，却往往经历更多疾病和失能年数。
在我国导致疾病负担差距最大的疾病依次为肌肉骨骼疾病、精神疾病、非故意伤害、感官疾病，以及心血管疾病；五大风险因素则是空腹血糖偏高、身体质量指数（Body Mass Index）偏高、职业风险、收缩压偏高和饮食风险。
这显示新加坡应继续加强预防和管理糖尿病、代谢疾病、肥胖、高血压、不健康饮食、工作相关健康风险、精神健康问题、摔跌、听力损失和肌肉骨骼疾病等。
吴丹虹指出，许多导致疾病负担差距的疾病不会直接致命，却会严重影响独立生活能力、工作能力和生活质量。持续追踪健康预期寿命和疾病负担差距，有助政策制定者掌握哪些领域需要投入更多资源。
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Wednesday, July 22, 2026
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