In 1870, the average person born in the Philippines could expect to live to just under the age of 31 years old. This figure would remain unchanged until the early 1900s, when life expectancy would fall to just over 25 years in the Philippine-American War of 1899-1902, as disruptions in food supply and healthcare would result in the loss of several hundred thousand Filipinos to famine and disease. This drop would be accompanied by another drop in the 1920s as the Spanish Flu would ravage the country. However, life expectancy would quickly recover and begin to rise under the United States military administration of the island, as investment by the American government would result in significant expansion in access to nutrition and healthcare. As a result, life expectancy would rise to over 41 years by 1940.
Life expectancy in the Philippines would decline once more in the 1940s, however, in the 1941 invasion and subsequent occupation of the island nation by the Empire of Japan in the Second World War, in which famine and causalities of war would result in the death of an estimated 500,000 Filipinos. Despite significant destruction in the Second World War, and an ending to the bulk of American investment in the country following its independence from the U.S. in 1946, life expectancy in the Philippines would quickly rise in the post-war years as the country would modernize; almost doubling in the two decades between 1945 and 1965 alone. It then plateaued throughout the 1970s and 1980s, during the authoritarian regime of Ferdinand Marcos, before the People Power Revolution in 1986 returned democracy to the country, and living standards began to improve once more. Life expectancy has also increased since this time, and in 2020, it is estimated that the average person born in the Philippines can expect to live to just over the age of 71 years old.
Life expectancy (from birth) in Philippines from 1870 to 2020*
Characteristic
Life expectancy in years
2020
71.04
2015
70.23
2010
69.45
2005
68.86
2000
68.64
1995
67.51
1990
65.24
1985
64.27
1980
63.24
1975
63.23
1970
62.94
1965
62
1960
59.83
1955
56.49
1950
49.22
1945
36
1940
41.32
1935
37.34
1930
33.7
1925
31.5
1920
30.36
1915
31.4
1910
31.32
1905
25.4
1900
31.2
1895
31.18
1890
31.1
1885
31.06
1880
31
1875
30.92
1870
30.9
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UN DESA, & Gapminder. (August 31, 2019). Life expectancy (from birth) in Philippines from 1870 to 2020* [Graph]. In Statista. Retrieved August 24, 2024, from https://www.statista.com/statistics/1072232/life-expectancy-philippines-historical/
UN DESA, und Gapminder. "Life expectancy (from birth) in Philippines from 1870 to 2020*." Chart. August 31, 2019. Statista. Accessed August 24, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1072232/life-expectancy-philippines-historical/
UN DESA, Gapminder. (2019). Life expectancy (from birth) in Philippines from 1870 to 2020*. Statista. Statista Inc.. Accessed: August 24, 2024. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1072232/life-expectancy-philippines-historical/
UN DESA, and Gapminder. "Life Expectancy (from Birth) in Philippines from 1870 to 2020*." Statista, Statista Inc., 31 Aug 2019, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1072232/life-expectancy-philippines-historical/
UN DESA & Gapminder, Life expectancy (from birth) in Philippines from 1870 to 2020* Statista, https://www.statista.com/statistics/1072232/life-expectancy-philippines-historical/ (last visited August 24, 2024)
Life expectancy (from birth) in Philippines from 1870 to 2020* [Graph], UN DESA, & Gapminder, August 31, 2019. [Online]. Available: https://www.statista.com/statistics/1072232/life-expectancy-philippines-historical/