Statistics Canada says that Canadians have one of the highest life expectancy rates on Earth, and their life spans continue to increase.

According to data collected from 2010 to 2012 and released by Statistics Canada on May 19, life expectancy at birth in Canada was 79.4 years for males and 83.6 years for females. This is an increase of 0.3 years for men and 0.2 years for women compared to the previous study period of 2009 to 2011. Statistics Canada notes that the gap in life expectancy between the sexes is the smallest it has been since the end of the 1970s, when it was at its widest (7.5 years).

International comparison

"Canada is among the countries where life expectancy at birth is the highest for both males and females," reads the report. "According to the World Health Organization, only males living in Iceland, Israel, Switzerland and Australia (81 years each) would have—for a reference period comparable with 2010-2012—a higher life expectancy than Canadian males. The life expectancy at birth of American males in 2012 was 76.4 years, three years lower than that of Canadian males, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention."

Statistics Canada has determined that Canadians’ life expectancy at age 65 has also improved slightly. For the 2010- 2012 period, it stood at 18.7 years among males and 21.7 years among females, up by 0.1 years and 0.2 years respectively compared to 2009-2011.