Global Burden of Disease 2019 Study Findings

28 October 2020

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1. Based on the findings of the Global Burden of Disease 2019 study¹ (GBD 2019), Singapore was ranked first globally for life expectancy (LE) at birth and healthy life expectancy (HALE) at birth, with the lowest Disability-Adjusted Life Years (DALYs) per 100,000 population in the world.

2. The GBD study quantifies the magnitude of ill health and premature deaths due to diseases, injuries and risk factors across countries and through time. GBD 2019 provides updated results based on latest data sources, refined methodologies and feedback from GBD 2017². The study is an international collaboration led by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and the World Health Organization and incorporates inputs from public health researchers and government policy makers from many countries, including the Ministry of Health in Singapore.

Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy

3. Overall, the global LE and HALE at birth have increased from 1990 to 2019, from 65.4 years in 1990 to 73.5 years in 2019 for LE, and 56.9 years in 1990 to 63.5 years in 2019 for HALE.

4. Singapore has the highest LE at birth (84.9 years) among countries in the world in 2019. Overall, this is an increase from 1990 (75.6 years), when Singapore was ranked 26th in the world.

3. Based on GBD 2019’s findings, Singapore’s HALE at birth is the highest in the world at 73.9 years in 2019. Overall, this is an increase from 1990 (66.6 years), when Singapore was ranked 16th in the world. HALE is the average number of years that a person is expected to live in good health by taking into account years lived in ill health due to disease and/ or injury. Table 1 below shows the comparison of LE and HALE for the top five countries.

Table caption

Rank (in order of higher to lower 2019 HALE)	Country	LE at birth		HALE at birth
Rank (in order of higher to lower 2019 HALE)	Country	1990	2019	1990	2019
1	Singapore	75.6	84.9	66.6	73.9
2	Japan	79.4	84.8	69.3	73.3
3	South Korea	72.1	82.9	63.4	72.0
4	Iceland	78.1	84.1	67.7	71.9
5	Switzerland	77.9	84.0	66.7	71.7
Table 1: Country comparison of LE and HALE (in years), 1990 and 2019 Disability-Adjusted Life Years and Attributable Risk Factors 4. According to the GBD 2019 findings, Singapore has the lowest age-standardised DALY burden, in line with the improvement in Singapore’s HALE at birth. Singapore’s age-standardised DALY rate in 2019 was 15,045 per 100,000 population, a decrease from 25,491 DALYs per 100,000 population in 1990. Disease burden in terms of DALYs is a summary measure of the years of healthy life lost due to premature mortality and ill health experienced by a population. Table 2 shows the comparison for DALYs for the top five countries.