Life Expectancy, Jobs and Education: Central Europe, Nordic, Eastern Gulf Countries and East Asia Lead
When it comes to statistics pertaining to quality of life, there are three parameters that may provide clues on this concept. These are life expectancy, employment and provision of primary education. These three concepts are interrelated but not automatically correlational, given that there are several factors that may influence them. However, the question remains whether which contributes more to increased life expectancy. Is it employment or primary education?
With available statistical data from UN, UNESCO and ILO, I was able to compute using Pearson correlation the relationship between these variables. The data shows that employment and life expectancy in general is not statistically related. This means that there are countries with residents having longer lives, but many of its citizens also do not have a job, regardless of salary, position and academic work prerequisites. On the other hand, access to primary education is significantly associated with life expectancy. Although the data is only limited to primary education, the findings show that when a person is able to finish primary education, there is increased chance that the person may live longer. This provides a hint for policy makers to put more focus on education, as a tool to increase the quality of life of people, as facilitating employment may augment income, but will not necessarily contribute to increase life expectancy.
In this research, life expectancy at birth
indicates the number of years a newborn infant would live if prevailing
patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the same throughout
its life. This data is according to United Nations. The table below enumerates the countries with the highest life expectancy as of 2013.
Countries with highest life expectancy
1. Hong Kong SAR, China
|
83.48
|
2. Japan
|
83.10
|
3. Italy
|
82.94
|
4. Iceland
|
82.92
|
5. Switzerland
|
82.70
|
6. France
|
82.57
|
7. Spain
|
82.38
|
8. Sweden
|
81.70
|
Israel
|
81.70
|
9. Norway
|
81.45
|
10. Luxembourg
|
81.39
|
11. Korea, Rep.
|
81.37
|
12. Canada
|
81.24
|
13. Netherlands
|
81.10
|
14. Austria
|
80.94
|
15. Ireland
|
80.90
|
16. Germany
|
80.89
|
17. Malta
|
80.75
|
18. Greece
|
80.63
|
Finland
|
80.63
|
19. Belgium
|
80.39
|
20. Macao SAR, China
|
80.13
|
Interestingly; out of top 40 countries in terms of life expectancy; Japan, Norway, Korea (Republic), Macao, Qatar and Brunei also have the highest primary education completion and employment rates. The map below shows, which countries are doing well in three areas together with the mentioned countries. Most of these countries are found in Europe and using Germanic-rooted languages, such as Norway, Denmark, Finland, Swede, Germany, Switzerland, Austria and Czech Republic. Noticeably, smaller oil-exporting states, such Brunei, Kuwait, Qatar and UAE are part of this list. Expectedly, Asian economic tigers like South Korea, Macau, Hongkong and Japan scored best also in these parameters. On the other hand, Israel is the only non-Muslim non-oil producing Middle-eastern country, which is part of the top list. Furthermore, Cuba, Panama, Sri Lanka and Ecuador may not have the highest GDP but these countries are doing well also in these three parameters.
Furthermore, the twenty countries with the lowest life expectancy are listed below. Lesotho, Swaziland, Mauritania,
Yemen (Republic) and Gabon have ranked lowest in primary education and employment. Only South Africa, which is considered one of the largest African economy got low rankings in life expectancy. This is probably due to cultural diversity in the area. In addition, war-torn areas like Zaire and Central African Republic are part of the list.
Countries with lowest life expectancy
1. Sierra Leone
|
45.33
|
2. Botswana
|
46.99
|
3. Lesotho
|
48.84
|
4. Swaziland
|
48.85
|
5. Central African Republic
|
49.48
|
6. Congo, Dem. Rep.
|
49.62
|
7. Mozambique
|
49.84
|
8. Cote d'Ivoire
|
50.40
|
9. Chad
|
50.70
|
10. Angola
|
51.46
|
11. Nigeria
|
52.11
|
12. Equatorial Guinea
|
52.61
|
13. Burundi
|
53.63
|
14. Guinea-Bissau
|
54.03
|
15. Cameroon
|
54.59
|
16. Mali
|
54.60
|
17. Malawi
|
54.72
|
18. Guinea
|
55.84
|
19. Burkina Faso
|
55.86
|
20. South Africa
|
56.10
|
The map below shows that more than two-thirds of the African continent scored low in all three parameters. There is no complete data for countries Djibouti, Western Sahara, Sudan, Libya, South Sudan and Somalia so the map is considered limited. The aforementioned countries have either underwent economic or political unrest in the last years, that have certainly affected education, employment and life expectancy. Furthermore, Iraq, Yemen and Papua New Guinea are the only countries belonging to the lowest ranked countries found outside Africa.
The second indicator used in this research is employment rate. Employment refers to the share of
the labor force that is with work. This excludes those who are unemployed but
available for and seeking employment. This data is derived from information of ILO ( International Labor Organization). The definition provided encompasses underemployment, which refers to employment with unmatched skills and benefits.
It is important to note that employment is influenced by a number of factors, such that high employment rates does not also contribute to longer life expectancy or is associated with higher access to primary education. Ghana and Sierra Leone in fact have high employment rates but low life
expectancy. However, improvement in life expectancy is expected on these counties in the near future. In addition, high employment but low primary
completion rate is found in East Timor, Bangladesh,
Madagascar and Guatemala. These countries may have high number of unskilled workers, but are earning for a living for themselves. The countries with the highest employment rates are found below:
1. Cambodia
|
99.70
|
2. Qatar
|
99.50
|
3. Rwanda
|
99.40
|
4. Thailand
|
99.30
|
5. Benin
|
99.00
|
6. Lao PDR
|
98.60
|
7. Guinea
|
98.20
|
Macao SAR, China
|
98.20
|
8. Vietnam
|
98.00
|
9. Papua New Guinea
|
97.90
|
Bhutan
|
97.90
|
10. Bolivia
|
97.40
|
11. Nepal
|
97.30
|
12. Guatemala
|
97.20
|
13. Burkina Faso
|
96.90
|
Kuwait
|
96.90
|
Korea, Rep.
|
96.90
|
14. Sierra Leone
|
96.80
|
Malaysia
|
96.80
|
Cuba
|
96.80
|
15. Hong Kong SAR, China
|
96.70
|
16. Myanmar
|
96.60
|
17. Tanzania
|
96.50
|
Norway
|
96.50
|
18. Madagascar
|
96.40
|
19. India
|
96.40
|
20. Liberia
|
96.30
|
Surprisingly, smaller states with lower GDP per capita like Cambodia, Rwanda, Benin,Laos, Guinea, Bhutan, Burkina Faso, Sierra Leone and Liberia have high employment rates. There are two possible reasons for this. Firstly, the small population provides an advantage for their respective governments to facilitate employment among its people. Secondly, the definition of employment includes all forms of employment, regardless of where jobs are generated, whether in industries, agriculture or manufacturing.
In the contrary, European countries such as Croatia, Albania and Ireland have low employment rates but high in life
expectancy. This is primarily due to specific sociocultural and economic situation in the countries. The twenty countries with lowest employment rates are listed below. Interestingly, European countries of Macedonia, Greece, Spain, Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Albania, Armenia, and Cyprus are part of the list. Most of these European countries have either experienced being helped by the European Union (Greece and Spain), or are excluded from EU (Balkan countries).
Countries with lowest employment rates
1. Mauritania
|
69.00
|
2. Macedonia, FYR
|
71.00
|
3. Greece
|
72.70
|
4. Spain
|
73.40
|
5. South Africa
|
75.10
|
6. Lesotho
|
75.30
|
7. West Bank and Gaza
|
76.60
|
8. Swaziland
|
77.50
|
9. Serbia
|
77.80
|
10. Montenegro
|
80.20
|
11. Gabon
|
80.40
|
12. Botswana
|
81.60
|
13. Croatia
|
82.30
|
14. Yemen, Rep.
|
82.60
|
15. Namibia
|
83.10
|
16. Armenia
|
83.80
|
17. Albania
|
84.00
|
18. Iraq
|
84.00
|
19. Cyprus
|
84.20
|
20. Jamaica
|
85.00
|
The third and last parameter included in this research is primary education completion rate. Primary completion rate is
measured as the gross intake ratio to the last grade of primary education. It
is calculated by taking the total number of students in the last grade of
primary school, minus the number of repeaters in that grade, divided by the total
number of children of official graduation age. The data is taken from the research conducted by UNESCO. Just like the other parameters, primary education completion rate is affected by various factors.
There are countries with good primary completion rate but
low in employment. These include Barbados, Cyprus, Iran, Egypt,
Lithuania, Greece, Jordan, Spain, Italy, Bahamas, Syria, Belize and Maldives. This data provides a glimpse on how difficult competition for employment can be in these countries. Greece, Cyprus, Spain and Italy are all EU countries with this kind of problem, which has spilled over the other EU member states. The list of countries with the highest primary completion rates are found below.
1. Maldives
|
155.97
|
2. Brunei Darussalam
|
111.18
|
3. Kuwait
|
109.74
|
4. Belize
|
106.02
|
5. Mongolia
|
105.26
|
6. Colombia
|
104.84
|
7. Syrian Arab Republic
|
103.71
|
8. Belarus
|
103.68
|
9. Fiji
|
103.51
|
10. Israel
|
103.36
|
11. Argentina
|
102.55
|
12. Qatar
|
102.19
|
13. Kazakhstan
|
101.97
|
14. Bahamas, The
|
101.86
|
15. Ecuador
|
101.85
|
16. Italy
|
101.71
|
17. Korea, Rep.
|
101.50
|
18. Japan
|
101.42
|
19. Spain
|
101.29
|
20. Jordan
|
101.15
|
Moreover, not all countries with low primary completion rate have lower life expectancy and employment rates. Burkina Faso, Rwanda, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Benin, Uganda, Cameroon, Papua New Guinea, Liberia, Bangladesh, East Timor and Tanzania have good employment rates, but low in
primary completion rate and life expectancy. There are several reasons why these countries have managed to keep employment levels high. This might be attributed to the kind of work available in these countries. Futhermore, the list of countries with lowest primary education completion rate are listed below.
Countries with lowest primary education completion rate
1. Chad
|
30.22
|
2. Niger
|
33.08
|
3. Ethiopia
|
35.07
|
4. Central African Republic
|
35.25
|
5. Burkina Faso
|
35.50
|
6. Eritrea
|
37.72
|
7. Burundi
|
38.66
|
8. Rwanda
|
41.33
|
9. Mozambique
|
41.44
|
10. Guinea-Bissau
|
46.34
|
11. Angola
|
48.16
|
12. Equatorial Guinea
|
48.43
|
13. Guinea
|
49.31
|
14. Mali
|
49.65
|
15. Senegal
|
51.45
|
16. Cote d'Ivoire
|
51.99
|
17. Mauritania
|
52.15
|
18. Benin
|
54.02
|
19. Madagascar
|
55.38
|
20. Uganda
|
56.89
|
Mediocre list
In this research, the list of countries is also provided with so-called mediocre performance in terms of life expectancy, employment and primary education completion rate. Some of these countries maybe ranked one of the highest in at most one parameter but are considered average in terms of the other two. Interestingly, rich countries like Canada, United States and France are part of the mediocre list. The average performance of these countries maybe brought about by the number of distinct cultures found in the country, which is linked to immigration and other factors. In addition, Russia and former Soviet Union states ( Estonia, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, Hungary, Moldova, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan) were also considered average. Developing countries in South Asia (India and Nepal) and most of the Southeast Asian nation (except Malaysia and Singapore) have also showed an average performance on the three parameters. Muslim-dominated Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Oman and Morocco, as well as the most Spanish-speaking South American countries (except Ecuador), and inclusion of Honduras and Costa Rica, are are also part of the list.
Data used
For reference, the data used are as follows. Green fields indicate part of the top 40 highest, while red indicate the opposite.
Country
|
Life
Expectancy
|
Primary
Completion Rate
|
Employment
Rate
|
1.
Albania
|
77.35
|
95.82
|
84.00
|
2.
Algeria
|
70.88
|
89.41
|
90.20
|
3.
Angola
|
51.46
|
48.16
|
93.20
|
4.
Argentina
|
76.01
|
102.55
|
92.50
|
5.
Armenia
|
74.44
|
95.17
|
83.80
|
6.
Austria
|
80.94
|
99.02
|
95.10
|
7.
Azerbaijan
|
70.62
|
93.12
|
94.50
|
8.
Bahamas,
The
|
74.91
|
101.86
|
86.40
|
9.
Bangladesh
|
70.29
|
65.25
|
95.70
|
10. Barbados
|
75.13
|
99.17
|
87.80
|
11. Belarus
|
72.06
|
103.68
|
94.20
|
12. Belgium
|
80.39
|
88.44
|
91.60
|
13. Belize
|
73.70
|
106.02
|
85.40
|
14. Benin
|
59.12
|
54.02
|
99.00
|
15. Bhutan
|
67.89
|
75.82
|
97.90
|
16. Bolivia
|
66.93
|
95.88
|
97.40
|
17. Botswana
|
46.99
|
93.02
|
81.60
|
18. Brunei Darussalam
|
78.37
|
111.18
|
96.20
|
19. Bulgaria
|
74.31
|
98.68
|
87.10
|
20. Burkina Faso
|
55.86
|
35.50
|
96.90
|
21. Burundi
|
53.63
|
38.66
|
93.10
|
22. Cabo Verde
|
74.54
|
98.16
|
93.00
|
23. Cambodia
|
71.41
|
81.68
|
99.70
|
24. Cameroon
|
54.59
|
60.07
|
96.00
|
25. Canada
|
81.24
|
96.95
|
92.90
|
26. Central African Republic
|
49.48
|
35.25
|
92.40
|
27. Chad
|
50.70
|
30.22
|
93.00
|
28. Chile
|
79.57
|
96.90
|
94.00
|
29. Colombia
|
73.78
|
104.84
|
89.50
|
30. Comoros
|
60.64
|
70.77
|
93.50
|
31. Congo, Dem. Rep.
|
49.62
|
60.52
|
92.00
|
32. Congo, Rep.
|
58.30
|
70.11
|
93.50
|
33. Costa Rica
|
79.71
|
93.34
|
92.40
|
34. Cote d'Ivoire
|
50.40
|
51.99
|
96.00
|
35. Croatia
|
76.92
|
95.60
|
82.30
|
36. Cuba
|
79.07
|
94.57
|
96.80
|
37. Cyprus
|
79.64
|
99.28
|
84.20
|
38. Czech Republic
|
78.08
|
100.65
|
93.10
|
39. Denmark
|
80.05
|
100.71
|
93.00
|
40. Dominican Republic
|
73.23
|
87.64
|
85.10
|
41. Ecuador
|
76.19
|
101.85
|
95.80
|
42. Egypt, Arab Rep.
|
70.91
|
99.83
|
87.30
|
43. El Salvador
|
72.10
|
88.70
|
93.70
|
44. Equatorial Guinea
|
52.61
|
48.43
|
92.00
|
45. Eritrea
|
62.23
|
37.72
|
92.80
|
46. Estonia
|
76.43
|
99.67
|
91.20
|
47. Ethiopia
|
62.97
|
35.07
|
94.30
|
48. Fiji
|
69.74
|
103.51
|
91.90
|
49. Finland
|
80.63
|
99.09
|
91.80
|
50. France
|
82.57
|
97.33
|
89.60
|
51. Gabon
|
63.07
|
73.40
|
80.40
|
52. Gambia, The
|
58.61
|
74.04
|
93.00
|
53. Georgia
|
73.94
|
98.65
|
85.70
|
54. Germany
|
80.89
|
99.77
|
94.70
|
55. Ghana
|
60.95
|
77.62
|
95.40
|
56. Greece
|
80.63
|
101.07
|
72.70
|
57. Guatemala
|
71.66
|
74.39
|
97.20
|
58. Guinea
|
55.84
|
49.31
|
98.20
|
59. Guinea-Bissau
|
54.03
|
46.34
|
92.90
|
60. Guyana
|
66.05
|
94.09
|
88.90
|
61. Honduras
|
73.49
|
91.62
|
95.80
|
62. Hong Kong SAR, China
|
83.48
|
96.18
|
96.70
|
63. Hungary
|
75.06
|
97.18
|
89.80
|
64. Iceland
|
82.92
|
100.38
|
94.40
|
65. India
|
66.21
|
85.70
|
96.40
|
66. Indonesia
|
70.61
|
98.44
|
93.70
|
67. Iran, Islamic Rep.
|
73.76
|
99.77
|
86.80
|
68. Iraq
|
69.24
|
66.98
|
84.00
|
69. Ireland
|
80.90
|
95.15
|
86.90
|
70. Israel
|
81.70
|
103.36
|
93.70
|
71. Italy
|
82.94
|
101.71
|
87.80
|
72. Jamaica
|
73.28
|
86.43
|
85.00
|
73. Japan
|
83.10
|
101.42
|
96.00
|
74. Jordan
|
73.75
|
101.15
|
87.40
|
75. Kazakhstan
|
69.61
|
101.97
|
94.80
|
76. Kenya
|
61.08
|
89.72
|
90.80
|
77. Korea, Rep.
|
81.37
|
101.50
|
96.90
|
78. Kuwait
|
74.36
|
109.74
|
96.90
|
79. Kyrgyz Republic
|
70.00
|
95.67
|
92.00
|
80. Lao PDR
|
67.81
|
74.58
|
98.60
|
81. Latvia
|
73.78
|
95.99
|
88.90
|
82. Lebanon
|
79.85
|
91.72
|
93.50
|
83. Lesotho
|
48.84
|
70.34
|
75.30
|
84. Liberia
|
60.21
|
62.27
|
96.30
|
85. Lithuania
|
73.86
|
100.88
|
88.20
|
86. Luxembourg
|
81.39
|
84.18
|
94.10
|
87. Macao SAR, China
|
80.13
|
100.81
|
98.20
|
88. Macedonia, FYR
|
75.03
|
90.79
|
71.00
|
89. Madagascar
|
64.25
|
55.38
|
96.40
|
90. Malawi
|
54.72
|
64.29
|
92.40
|
91. Malaysia
|
74.84
|
95.51
|
96.80
|
92. Maldives
|
77.57
|
155.97
|
88.40
|
93. Mali
|
54.60
|
49.65
|
91.80
|
94. Malta
|
80.75
|
93.44
|
93.50
|
95. Mauritania
|
61.35
|
52.15
|
69.00
|
96. Mauritius
|
73.57
|
100.74
|
91.70
|
97. Mexico
|
77.14
|
95.39
|
95.10
|
98. Moldova
|
68.69
|
94.70
|
94.90
|
99. Mongolia
|
67.34
|
105.26
|
95.10
|
100. Montenegro
|
74.65
|
88.05
|
80.20
|
101. Morocco
|
70.64
|
76.26
|
90.80
|
102. Mozambique
|
49.84
|
41.44
|
91.70
|
103. Myanmar
|
64.93
|
84.38
|
96.60
|
104. Namibia
|
63.88
|
86.61
|
83.10
|
105. Nepal
|
67.98
|
79.42
|
97.30
|
106. Netherlands
|
81.10
|
99.52
|
93.30
|
107. Nicaragua
|
74.47
|
72.80
|
92.80
|
108. Niger
|
57.97
|
33.08
|
94.90
|
109. Nigeria
|
52.11
|
78.83
|
92.50
|
110. Norway
|
81.45
|
100.13
|
96.50
|
111. Oman
|
76.59
|
91.82
|
92.10
|
112. Pakistan
|
66.44
|
63.81
|
94.90
|
113. Panama
|
77.37
|
93.28
|
95.90
|
114. Papua New Guinea
|
62.30
|
60.74
|
97.90
|
115. Paraguay
|
72.19
|
92.90
|
94.80
|
116. Peru
|
74.52
|
98.56
|
96.10
|
117. Philippines
|
68.55
|
93.79
|
92.90
|
118. Poland
|
76.80
|
96.30
|
89.60
|
119. Qatar
|
78.45
|
102.19
|
99.50
|
120. Romania
|
74.56
|
95.16
|
92.70
|
121. Russian Federation
|
70.46
|
94.04
|
94.40
|
122. Rwanda
|
63.49
|
41.33
|
99.40
|
123. Saudi Arabia
|
75.50
|
96.36
|
94.30
|
124. Senegal
|
63.20
|
51.45
|
89.70
|
125. Serbia
|
75.23
|
98.38
|
77.80
|
126. Sierra Leone
|
45.33
|
74.49
|
96.80
|
127. Slovak Republic
|
76.11
|
97.56
|
85.80
|
128. Slovenia
|
80.12
|
96.50
|
89.80
|
129. Solomon Islands
|
67.51
|
85.47
|
96.20
|
130. South Africa
|
56.10
|
92.72
|
75.10
|
131. Spain
|
82.38
|
101.29
|
73.40
|
132. Sri Lanka
|
74.07
|
99.65
|
95.80
|
133. Suriname
|
70.81
|
85.43
|
92.20
|
134. Swaziland
|
48.85
|
66.71
|
77.50
|
135. Sweden
|
81.70
|
99.54
|
91.90
|
136. Switzerland
|
82.70
|
96.30
|
95.60
|
137. Syrian Arab Republic
|
74.71
|
103.71
|
89.20
|
138. Tajikistan
|
67.26
|
97.04
|
89.30
|
139. Tanzania
|
60.85
|
70.52
|
96.50
|
140. Thailand
|
74.19
|
85.64
|
99.30
|
141. Timor-Leste
|
67.02
|
69.04
|
95.60
|
142. Togo
|
56.15
|
71.43
|
93.10
|
143. Trinidad and Tobago
|
69.82
|
92.88
|
94.20
|
144. Tunisia
|
75.10
|
95.57
|
86.70
|
145. Turkey
|
74.86
|
100.09
|
90.00
|
146. Uganda
|
58.65
|
56.89
|
96.20
|
147. Ukraine
|
70.94
|
100.49
|
92.10
|
148. United Arab Emirates
|
76.96
|
96.61
|
96.20
|
149. United States
|
78.74
|
98.46
|
92.60
|
150. Uruguay
|
76.91
|
98.89
|
93.40
|
151. Uzbekistan
|
68.10
|
96.42
|
89.30
|
152. Venezuela, RB
|
74.49
|
92.11
|
92.50
|
153. Vietnam
|
75.61
|
98.99
|
98.00
|
154. West Bank and Gaza
|
73.02
|
92.18
|
76.60
|
155. Yemen, Rep.
|
62.91
|
62.31
|
82.60
|
156. Zambia
|
57.02
|
84.56
|
86.70
|
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