How long will I live for ?
We all ask this question from time to time. Nobody knows the answer ; do they ?However , The World Health Organization has figures for average life expectancy from the earliest times.
Thousands of years ago , in pre-history , people only lived for about 20 years. The Ancient Egyptians , in around 3000 BCE had an average life expectancy of 25. The ancient Greeks only lived for an extra three years , although they knew a lot about medicine. The Romans , in around 0 CE , died , on average 28.
In the middle ages , around 1400 CE , the average age at death was 33 , probably because people had more food to eat. The average continued to rise in the next 200 years. In Renaissance , at the time of Michelangelo and Shakespeare. Most people were dead by the age of 37.
By the Victorian age , in 1850 , the average age rose to 45 because doctors saved many children at birth.
At the start of the 20th century , the average was 50. Then it started to rise quickly. The reason was cleaner houses , cleaner water and cleaner food. By 1950 the average age at death was 65.
Life expectancy continued to rise , thanks to antibiotics. At the start of the 20th century it was 79.
What about the future ? life expectancy is still rising , but not as fast as the 20th century. By 2050 , scientists say it will be 85 , but it will take another 500 years to get to the magic age of 100.
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