The World Bank's 2008 estimate of life expectancy in Israel was 81 years from birth. The estimate for life expectancy in the Palestinian Territories was 73.5 years.
This really surprised me when I read it. The life expectancy of Egypt was 70.1 years, and the life expectancy of Jordan was 72.7 years. I'm not saying that Egypt and Jordan are especially free and prosperous countries - current events show that these societies have their discontents. But a people buckling under the weight of apartheid are expected to live longer than their neighbors?
It very well may be that these figures are like this because the World Bank got them before Israel's galavant into Gaza. I say new estimates are past due.
It would be really neat to learn the differences between the life expectancy of residents of the West Bank and those of Gaza. My guess is that Gazans' life expectancy would be noticeably lower than that of their compatirots in the West Bank. Anyone with more recent estimates is welcome to give me a link.
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About Me
- Isaiah
- I am a part-time philosopher and a former immigration paralegal with a BA in philosophy and a paralegal certificate from UC San Diego.
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