GZERO North

Graphic Truth: The longevity wars

Luisa Vieira

Life expectancy, a key indicator of a nation’s well-being, has been diverging between the United States and Canada in recent years. The gap in life expectancy now stands at four years between the neighboring countries, highlighting a significant divergence in health outcomes.

In the US, life expectancy has been plateauing – and it even declined by two years from 2019-2021, due to the pandemic, the opioid crisis, and increasing rates of obesity and related health issues. Canada, meanwhile, has fared better, with life expectancy continuing on an upward trajectory because of its universal health care system, lower rates of obesity and drug-related deaths, and more effective pandemic response.

More For You

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Finland's President Alexander Stubb, Estonia’s Prime Minister, President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen and other European leaders visit memorial to fallen Ukrainian defenders at the Independent Square on the fourth anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion, in Kyiv, Ukraine February 24, 2026.
Ukrainian Presidential Press Service/Handout via REUTERS

Somewhere in the Donbas region, Ukrainian soldier Artem Bondarenko says he hasn’t slept through the night in months as he defends Eastern Ukraine.

Members of the special units of the National Guard and the Secretaria de Seguridad Ciudadana stand guard in front of the Fiscalia General de la Republica, where the investigation into the operation in which Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, alias "El Mencho", founder and leading head of the Cartel de Jalisco Nueva, was killed, is underway.
Félix Márquez/dpa via Reuters Connect