Japan Tops Life-Expectancy List

Health initiatives and wars have flipped some of the world's life expectancies since 1990, the World Heath Organization said today. Some findings, via AP:

• Japanese women, at 86, and San Marino men, 81, enjoy the longest life expectancies.
• Sierra Leone men, 39, at Afghan women, 42, have the shortest.
• In the US, men gained 4 years, women 2.

• Eritrea increased lifespans by 18 years for men, 12 for women.
• Other countries that improved by at least 10 years include: Liberia, Angola, Bangladesh, Maldives, Niger, and East Timor.
• Life expectancy fell the most in Zimbabwe, where women lost 19 years and men 12.
• Lesotho, Swaziland, Botswana, Congo, Kenya, South Africa, and Zambia also saw steep declines.

(More World Health Organization stories.)