secret to a long and healthy life?
Singapore, Monaco, Andorra, Australia, Canada, Luxembourg, New Zealand and Switzerland are all on the list for a joint silver medal for life expectancy at 60 -- living to an average of 85.
"Places like Monaco have a huge wealthy immigrant population," says Harper, who believes immigration can also plays a role in the diet of a country's population and therefore its longevity. "Countries like Australia, Canada and New Zealand have large European populations that are probably eating similar kinds of diets," she says.
This man's blood has saved the lives of two million babies
This man's blood has saved 2 million babies
In general, countries with a smaller wealth and class divide have a healthier aging population.
"[In Singapore] there's a range of wealth and advantage; there are very few people at the bottom," says Beard. This uniformity means more members of the population can live the lifestyles needed to ensure good health -- well into their eighties.
And to top this all off, the outcome of a strong and equal economy is also a strong health system. "The health system in Australia starts to play a more significant role than in some other places as there is universal access to health services," says Beard.
If entire populations can access good health programs -- such as screening services -- chronic conditions that generally affect older populations can be picked up early and treated before they're irreparable.
But one thing helping us all live longer is that our lives today are easier than those of our ancestors.
"If you compare the lives of somebody in the 21st century to the life of somebody in the 19th century, we're not struggling on a day to day basis to survive," says Beard
"One of the things that's driving the aging of populations, is probably that we're generally living a less stressful life than our fore bearers."
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