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<DIV><FONT size=2 face=Tahoma><SPAN class=802351303-01082009><FONT size=3
face="Bookman Old Style">This is from the Central Intelligence Agency's data
pages..... </FONT></SPAN><BR></FONT></DIV>
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<DIV class=pdate><FONT size=3 face="Bookman Old Style">JULY 30, 2009
4:14PM</FONT></DIV>
<H2><FONT size=3 face="Bookman Old Style">Weekly 10: Top 10 Countries For
Life Expectancy At Birth</FONT></H2>
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<DIV style="DISPLAY: none" id=report_abuse_div><FONT size=3
face="Bookman Old Style"></FONT> </DIV><FONT size=3
face="Bookman Old Style">With all the recent talk about healthcare in
the news, I thought it would be interesting to take a look at what
countries have the longest life expectancy. </FONT></LI></UL></DIV></DIV>
<DIV id=pbody class=pbody>
<P><FONT size=3><FONT face="Bookman Old Style">The <EM>CIA World Factbook
</EM>rates all countries with the following disclaimer: "t<SPAN>his entry
contains the average number of years to be lived by a group of people born
in the same year, if mortality at each age remains constant in the future.
The entry includes <EM>total population</EM> as well as the <EM>male</EM>
and <EM>female</EM> components. Life expectancy at birth is also a measure
of overall quality of life in a country and summarizes the mortality at
all ages. It can also be thought of as indicating the potential return on
investment in human capital and is necessary for the calculation of
various actuarial measures."</SPAN></FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=3 face="Bookman Old Style">The age estimates on this list
are for people born in 2009. Age estimates and country information come
directly from the CIA factbook. For more information on worldwide life
expectancy, or CIA publications, please visit their website at </FONT><A
href="http://www.cia.gov"><FONT size=3
face="Bookman Old Style">www.cia.gov</FONT></A><FONT size=3
face="Bookman Old Style">. </FONT></P>
<P><FONT color=#ff0000 size=3 face="Bookman Old Style"><STRONG>The United
States a.k.a. The country with the "best healthcare in the world," as
many healthcare non-reformers call it, placed 50<SUP>th </SUP>on the
list.</STRONG> <STRONG>As a country that is supposed to have the
"best healthcare in the world" - why are our citizens not living as
long as the other 49 countries ahead of it?</STRONG></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=3><FONT face="Bookman Old Style"><STRONG>1. Macau (People's
Republic of China) - 84.36 years: </STRONG>Colonized by the Portuguese in
the 16th century, Macau was the first European settlement in the Far East.
Pursuant to an agreement signed by China and Portugal on 13 April 1987,
Macau became the Macau Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's
Republic of China on 20 December 1999. In this agreement, China promised
that, under its "one country, two systems" formula, China's socialist
economic system would not be practiced in Macau, and that Macau would
enjoy a high degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign and defense
affairs for the next 50 years.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=3><FONT face="Bookman Old Style"><STRONG>2. Andorra - 82.51
years</STRONG>: For 715 years, from 1278 to 1993, Andorrans
lived under a unique co-principality, ruled by French and Spanish leaders
(from 1607 onward, the French chief of state and the Spanish bishop of
Urgel). In 1993, this feudal system was modified with the titular heads of
state retained, but the government transformed into a parliamentary
democracy. Long isolated and impoverished, mountainous Andorra achieved
considerable prosperity since World War II through its tourist industry.
Many immigrants (legal and illegal) are attracted to the thriving economy
with its lack of income taxes.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=3><FONT face="Bookman Old Style"><STRONG>3. Japan - 82.12
years: </STRONG>Japan attacked US forces in 1941 - triggering America's
entry into World War II - and soon occupied much of East and Southeast
Asia. After its defeat in World War II, Japan recovered to become an
economic power and a staunch ally of the US. While the emperor retains his
throne as a symbol of national unity, elected politicians - with heavy
input from bureaucrats and business executives - wield actual
decisionmaking power. The economy experienced a major slowdown starting in
the 1990s following three decades of unprecedented growth, but Japan still
remains a major economic power, both in Asia and globally. In January
2009, Japan assumed a nonpermanent seat on the UN Security Council for the
2009-10 term. </FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=3><FONT face="Bookman Old Style"><STRONG>4. Singapore -
81.98 years</STRONG>: Singapore was founded as a British trading
colony in 1819. It joined the Malaysian Federation in 1963 but separated
two years later and became independent. Singapore subsequently became one
of the world's most prosperous countries with strong international trading
links (its port is one of the world's busiest in terms of tonnage handled)
and with per capita GDP equal to that of the leading nations of Western
Europe.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=3><FONT face="Bookman Old Style"><STRONG>5. San Marino -
81.97 years: </STRONG>The third smallest state in Europe (after the Holy
See and Monaco), San Marino also claims to be the world's oldest republic.
According to tradition, it was founded by a Christian stonemason named
Marinus in A.D. 301. San Marino's foreign policy is aligned with that of
Italy; social and political trends in the republic also track closely with
those of its larger neighbor.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=3><FONT face="Bookman Old Style"><STRONG>6. Hong Kong
(People's Republic of China) - 81.86 years: </STRONG>Occupied by the UK in
1841, Hong Kong was formally ceded by China the following year; various
adjacent lands were added later in the 19th century. Pursuant to an
agreement signed by China and the UK on 19 December 1984, Hong Kong became
the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the People's Republic
of China on 1 July 1997. In this agreement, China promised that, under its
"one country, two systems" formula, China's socialist economic system
would not be imposed on Hong Kong and that Hong Kong would enjoy a high
degree of autonomy in all matters except foreign and defense affairs for
the next 50 years.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=3><FONT face="Bookman Old Style"><STRONG>7. Australia -
81.63 years: </STRONG>Aboriginal settlers arrived on the continent from
Southeast Asia about 40,000 years before the first Europeans began
exploration in the 17th century. No formal territorial claims were made
until 1770, when Capt. James COOK took possession in the name of Great
Britain. Six colonies were created in the late 18th and 19th centuries;
they federated and became the Commonwealth of Australia in 1901. The new
country took advantage of its natural resources to rapidly develop
agricultural and manufacturing industries and to make a major contribution
to the British effort in World Wars I and II. In recent decades, Australia
has transformed itself into an internationally competitive, advanced
market economy. It boasted one of the OECD's fastest growing economies
during the 1990s, a performance due in large part to economic reforms
adopted in the 1980s. Long-term concerns include climate-change issues
such as the depletion of the ozone layer and more frequent droughts, and
management and conservation of coastal areas, especially the Great Barrier
Reef.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=3><FONT face="Bookman Old Style"><STRONG>8. Canada - 81.23
years: </STRONG>A land of vast distances and rich natural resources,
Canada became a self-governing dominion in 1867 while retaining ties to
the British crown. Economically and technologically the nation has
developed in parallel with the US, its neighbor to the south across an
unfortified border. Canada faces the political challenges of meeting
public demands for quality improvements in health care and education
services, as well as responding to separatist concerns in predominantly
francophone Quebec. Canada also aims to develop its diverse energy
resources while maintaining its commitment to the
environment.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=3><FONT face="Bookman Old Style"><STRONG>9. France - 80.98
years: </STRONG>Although ultimately a victor in World Wars I and II,
France suffered extensive losses in its empire, wealth, manpower, and rank
as a dominant nation-state. Nevertheless, France today is one of the most
modern countries in the world and is a leader among European nations.
Since 1958, it has constructed a hybrid presidential-parliamentary
governing system resistant to the instabilities experienced in earlier
more purely parliamentary administrations. In recent years, its
reconciliation and cooperation with Germany have proved central to the
economic integration of Europe, including the introduction of a common
exchange currency, the euro, in January 1999. At present, France is at the
forefront of efforts to develop the EU's military capabilities to
supplement progress toward an EU foreign policy.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P><FONT size=3><FONT face="Bookman Old Style"><STRONG>10: Sweden - 80.86
years: </STRONG>A military power during the 17th century, Sweden has not
participated in any war in almost two centuries. An armed neutrality was
preserved in both World Wars. Sweden's long-successful economic formula of
a capitalist system interlarded with substantial welfare elements was
challenged in the 1990s by high unemployment and in 2000-02 by the global
economic downturn, but fiscal discipline over the past several years has
allowed the country to weather economic vagaries. Sweden joined the EU in
1995, but the public rejected the introduction of the euro in a 2003
referendum.</FONT></FONT></P>
<P align=center><STRONG><FONT size=3 face="Bookman Old Style">--
</FONT></STRONG></P>
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