COMMENT | Malaysians living longer, but not much healthier

COMMENT | Before the pandemic, Malaysians’ overall health indicators have improved over the decades, but health gains of the population have been uneven. Undoubtedly, Malaysians are now living longer, meaning life expectancies have risen, but ‘healthy life expectancy’ has not risen as much.

According to Khazanah Research Institute’s (KRI) latest major report, ‘Social Inequalities and Health in Malaysia’, average life expectancy in 2020 before Covid-19 was 72.6 years for males and 77.6 for females. These are about 11 to 12 years longer than half a century earlier in 1970 when life expectancies were 61.6 and 65.6 years respectively...