Which measure represents the number of years a newborn is expected to live on average, assuming current mortality rates?

• A. Healthy life expectancy
• B. Average life expectancy
• C. Maximum lifespan
• D. Life expectancy

Answer: (D)

The main concept being tested is life expectancy—the average number of years a newborn is expected to live given current mortality rates. This measure comes from life tables that apply age-specific mortality to each birth cohort, yielding the expected remaining years at birth (often denoted e0). It reflects overall lifespan under present conditions, not health status.

Healthy life expectancy, by contrast, estimates how many of those years are lived in good health, not just the total years alive. Maximum lifespan refers to the longest age observed or possible, which is not an average. While people sometimes say “average life expectancy,” the standard term in demography for this question is life expectancy.