Average Irish person can expect to live to 77 years, new statistics show
Although the figures show that we have the 46th longest life span in the world, things could be much worse.
The average person in Zimbabwe, Botswana and Malawi will die after just 37.1 years.
As well as having the tag as one of the smallest nations in the world, Japan has the longest-living people.
Japanese women can expect to live 84.93 years and men 78.07 years, based on 2001 figures.
In stark contrast, women in Mozambique can expect to live just 37.3 years, while the average man will die after 35.6 years.
Researchers say Japan's traditional fish-based, low-fat diet may be the secret to longevity.
Maybe, but it is diet too, that is the cause of the miserable life expectancy rates in the nations occupying the bottom five positions on the list.
Most statistics from Africa come with footnotes explaining that due to the highest incidences of AIDS and HIV in the world, life expectancy figures cannot be relied upon.
International lifespan comparisons pinpoint, even at a glance, what kind of world we occupy.
The US recorded a record high of 76.9 years in 2000. In Afghanistan, no man or woman has favourable odds of reaching 50.
"Everything is slated against the poorest countries because the rules are set by us," regional manager of Trocaire, the Irish Catholic agency for world development, Rosín Thanki said.
Ms Thanki said the statistics were read wrongly the real story was not about those who could live longest, but those who were never given the chance.
