We're dieing faster

We used to have just about the same life expectancy as Germany, the United Kingdom, or France. But something happened in the 1990s. American life spans started falling significantly behind those in similarly wealthy European countries. Or, so says a paper released by the National Bureau of Economic Research.

The gap persists no matter what age you’re looking at. Compared with Europeans, American babies are more likely to die before they turn 5, American teens are more likely to die before they turn 20, and American adults are more likely to die before they turn 65.

Average life expectancy surged above 80 years old in just about every Western European country in the 2010s. In the U.S., by contrast, the average life span has never exceeded 79—and now it’s just taken an historic tumble.

It doesn't seem to make a difference between rich and poor communities. Black teenagers in the poorest U.S. areas are roughly twice as likely to die before they turn 20, compared with those in the richest U.S. counties. In Europe, by contrast, the mortality rate for teenagers in the richest and poorest areas is exactly the same—12 deaths per 100,00.

In America, the problem is not just that poverty is higher; it’s that the effect of poverty on longevity is greater too. White Americans living in the richest 5 percent of counties still die earlier than Europeans in similarly low-poverty areas.