[Translated from French]

Average life expectancy, which has been rising for decades around the world, suddenly declined in 2020 and 2021 at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a study published on Tuesday in The Lancet.

Life expectancy has declined in the vast majority (84%) of the more than 200 countries and territories studied by the researchers, that is, for all intents and purposes, around the world.

On average, out of all the data reviewed, life expectancy declined by more than a year and a half in 2020-21 (1.6 year). This resulted in an excess of 15.9 million deaths, slightly more than the estimated 15 million estimated by the World Health Organization (WHO) baseline.