Life expectancy at birth in Puerto Rico in 2023 was 84.1 years for women and 76.6 years for men, according to a study published by the Puerto Rico Institute of Statistics. The figures are part of a special publication on life tables for Puerto Rico’s population, a collaboration between the Institute and the Statistical Analysis and Publications Division of the Planning and Development Office of the Department of Health.
The publication covers the periods from 2009-2011 to 2022-2024 for the total population and for women and men separately. Comparing the initial and final periods, life expectancy for the total population rose by nearly two years, from 78.7 to 80.4 years, or 2.3%. Women’s life expectancy increased from 82.4 to 84.1 years, and men’s from 74.9 to 76.6 years, a gain of 1.7 years for both sexes.
A gap of about seven years between the sexes remains compared with 2010. Alberto L. Velázquez Estrada, senior statistical projects manager in demography at the Institute, said the trend reflected a gradual increase in average life expectancy at birth, with advances in treatments for health conditions and in medications among the contributing factors. Compared with other countries in 2023, Puerto Rico ranked 35th for the total population, 18th for women and 44th for men.
Women placed among the twenty countries with the longest life expectancy, while men placed among the top fifty. Data sources were the Census Bureau and death records from the Planning and Development Office, which receives them from the Demographic Registry, both within the Department of Health.