This multi-scale map shows life expectancy - a widely-used measure of health and mortality. From the 2020 County Health Rankings page about Life Expectancy:"Life Expectancy is an AverageLife Expectancy measures the average number of years from birth a person can expect to live, according to the current mortality experience (age-specific death rates) of the population. Life Expectancy takes into account the number of deaths in a given time period and the average number of people at risk of dying during that period, allowing us to compare data across counties with different population sizes.Life Expectancy is Age-AdjustedAge is a non-modifiable risk factor, and as age increases, poor health outcomes are more likely. Life Expectancy is age-adjusted in order to fairly compare counties with differing age structures.What Deaths Count Toward Life Expectancy?Deaths are counted in the county where the individual lived. So, even if an individual dies in a car crash on the other side of the state, that death is attributed to his/her home county.Some Data are SuppressedA missing value is reported for counties with fewer than 5,000 population-years-at-risk in the time frame.Measure LimitationsLife Expectancy includes mortality of all age groups in a population instead of focusing just on premature deaths and thus can be dominated by deaths of the elderly.[1] This could draw attention to areas with higher mortality rates among the oldest segment of the population, where there may be little that can be done to change chronic health problems that have developed over many years. However, this captures the burden of chronic disease in a population better than premature death measures.[2]Furthermore, the calculation of life expectancy is complex and not easy to communicate. Methodologically, it can produce misleading results caused by hidden differences in age structure, is sensitive to infant and child mortality, and tends to be overestimated in small populations."Click on the map to see a breakdown by race/ethnicity in the pop-up: Full details about this measureThere are many factors that play into life expectancy: rates of noncommunicable diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and obesity, prevalence of tobacco use, prevalence of domestic violence, and many more.Data from County Health Rankings 2020 (in this layer and referenced below), available for nation, state, and county, and available in ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World

In 2020, a newborn Hispanic child in the United States had a projected life expectancy of 77.9 years, the highest life expectancy among the ethnic groups studied. In comparison, the life expectancy at birth for a Black, non-Hispanic child in 2020 was 71.5 years.

Disparities in life expectancy between Black and White Americans increased substantially during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the same period, the US experienced the largest increase in homicide on record. Yet, little research has examined the contribution of homicide to Black-White disparities in longevity in recent years. Using mortality data and population estimates, we conduct a comprehensive decomposition of the drivers of Black-White inequality in life expectancy and lifespan variability between 2019 and 2021 among men. We find that homicide is one of the principal reasons why lifespans have become shorter for Black men than White men in recent years. In 2020 and 2021, homicide was the leading contributor to inequality in both life expectancy and lifespan variability between Black and White men, accounting for far more of the racial gap in longevity and variability than deaths from COVID-19. Addressing homicides should be at the forefront of any public health discussion aimed at promoting racial health equity.

In 2024, the average life expectancy in the world was 71 years for men and 76 years for women. The lowest life expectancies were found in Africa, while Oceania and Europe had the highest. What is life expectancy?Life expectancy is defined as a statistical measure of how long a person may live, based on demographic factors such as gender, current age, and most importantly the year of their birth. The most commonly used measure of life expectancy is life expectancy at birth or at age zero. The calculation is based on the assumption that mortality rates at each age were to remain constant in the future. Life expectancy has changed drastically over time, especially during the past 200 years. In the early 20th century, the average life expectancy at birth in the developed world stood at 31 years. It has grown to an average of 70 and 75 years for males and females respectively, and is expected to keep on growing with advances in medical treatment and living standards continuing. Highest and lowest life expectancy worldwide Life expectancy still varies greatly between different regions and countries of the world. The biggest impact on life expectancy is the quality of public health, medical care, and diet. As of 2022, the countries with the highest life expectancy were Japan, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and Australia, all at 84–83 years. Most of the countries with the lowest life expectancy are mostly African countries. The ranking was led by the Chad, Nigeria, and Lesotho with 53–54 years.

This dataset of U.S. mortality trends since 1900 highlights the differences in age-adjusted death rates and life expectancy at birth by race and sex. Age-adjusted death rates (deaths per 100,000) after 1998 are calculated based on the 2000 U.S. standard population. Populations used for computing death rates for 2011–2017 are postcensal estimates based on the 2010 census, estimated as of July 1, 2010. Rates for census years are based on populations enumerated in the corresponding censuses. Rates for noncensus years between 2000 and 2010 are revised using updated intercensal population estimates and may differ from rates previously published. Data on age-adjusted death rates prior to 1999 are taken from historical data (see References below). Life expectancy data are available up to 2017. Due to changes in categories of race used in publications, data are not available for the black population consistently before 1968, and not at all before 1960. More information on historical data on age-adjusted death rates is available at https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/mortality/hist293.htm. SOURCES CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System, historical data, 1900-1998 (see https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/mortality_historical_data.htm); CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System, mortality data (see http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/deaths.htm); and CDC WONDER (see http://wonder.cdc.gov). REFERENCES National Center for Health Statistics, Data Warehouse. Comparability of cause-of-death between ICD revisions. 2008. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/mortality/comparability_icd.htm. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital statistics data available. Mortality multiple cause files. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data_access/vitalstatsonline.htm. Kochanek KD, Murphy SL, Xu JQ, Arias E. Deaths: Final data for 2017. National Vital Statistics Reports; vol 68 no 9. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2019. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr68/nvsr68_09-508.pdf. Arias E, Xu JQ. United States life tables, 2017. National Vital Statistics Reports; vol 68 no 7. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2019. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr68/nvsr68_07-508.pdf. National Center for Health Statistics. Historical Data, 1900-1998. 2009. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/mortality_historical_data.htm.

Tunisia had the highest projected life expectancy at birth in Africa as of 2025. A newborn infant was expected to live about 77 years in the country. Algeria, Cabo Verde, Morocco, and Mauritius followed, with a life expectancy between 77 and 75 years. On the other hand, Nigeria registered the lowest average, at 54.8 years. Overall, the life expectancy in Africa was just over 64 years in the same year.

Created for the 2023-2025 State of Black Los Angeles County (SBLA) interactive report. To learn more about this effort, please visit the report home page at https://ceo.lacounty.gov/ardi/sbla/. For more information about the purpose of this data, please contact CEO-ARDI. For more information about the configuration of this data, please contact ISD-Enterprise GIS. table_name indicator_name Universe source timeframe source_url

life_expectancy_countyhealthrankings_2020 Life Expectancy Total Population County Health Rankings 2018-2020 https://www.countyhealthrankings.org/app/california/2022/measure/outcomes/147/data

obese_est_adult_lachs_2018 Obese Estimate (#) Adults (Ages 18 Years and Older) LAC Health Survey 2018 www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/ha/LACHSDataTopics2018.htm

obese_perc_adult_lachs_2018 Obese Percent (%) Adults (Ages 18 Years and Older) LAC Health Survey 2018www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/ha/LACHSDataTopics2018.htm

overweight_est_adult_lachs_2018 Overweight Estimate (#) Adults (Ages 18 Years and Older) LAC Health Survey 2018 www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/ha/LACHSDataTopics2018.htm

overweight_perc_adult_lachs_2018 Overweight Percent (%) Adults (Ages 18 Years and Older) LAC Health Survey 2018 www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/ha/LACHSDataTopics2018.htm

diabetes_est_adult_lachs_2018 Ever Diagnosed with Diabetes Estimate (#) Adults (Ages 18 Years and Older) LAC Health Survey 2018 www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/ha/LACHSDataTopics2018.htm

diabetes_perc_adult_lachs_2018 Ever Diagnosed with Diabetes Percent (%) Adults (Ages 18 Years and Older) LAC Health Survey 2018 www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/ha/LACHSDataTopics2018.htm

regular_source_of_care_est_adult_lachs_2018 Reported Having a Regular Source of Health Care Estimate (#) Adults (Ages 18 Years and Older) LAC Health Survey 2018www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/ha/LACHSDataTopics2018.htm

regular_source_of_care_perc_adult_lachs_2018 Reported Having a Regular Source of Health Care Percent (%) Adults (Ages 18 Years and Older) LAC Health Survey 2018 www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/ha/LACHSDataTopics2018.htm

depression_est_adult_lachs_2018 Ever Diagnosed with Depression Estimate (#) Adults (Ages 18 Years and Older) LAC Health Survey 2018www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/ha/LACHSDataTopics2018.htm

depression_perc_adult_lachs_2018 Ever Diagnosed with Depression Percent (%) Adults (Ages 18 Years and Older) LAC Health Survey 2018www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/ha/LACHSDataTopics2018.htm

perceived_safe_est_adult_lachs_2018 Perceived Their Neighborhood to Be Safe from Crime Estimate (#) Adults (Ages 18 Years and Older) LAC Health Survey 2018 www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/ha/LACHSDataTopics2018.htm

perceived_safe_perc_adult_lachs_2018 Perceived Their Neighborhood to Be Safe from Crime Estimate (%) Adults (Ages 18 Years and Older) LAC Health Survey 2018 www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/ha/LACHSDataTopics2018.htm

dental_care_est_child_lachs_2018 Had Dental Care within the past Year Estimate (#) Children (Ages 17 Years and Younger) LAC Health Survey 2018www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/ha/LACHSDataTopics2018.htm

dental_care_perc_child_lachs_2018 Had Dental Care within the past Year Percent (%) Children (Ages 17 Years and Younger) LAC Health Survey 2018www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/ha/LACHSDataTopics2018.htm

no_usual_source_est_chis_2020 No usual source of care Estimate (#) Total Population California Health Interview Survey 2020 https://ask.chis.ucla.edu/AskCHIS/tools/_layouts/AskChisTool/home.aspx

no_usual_source_perc_chis_2020 No usual source of care Percent (%) Total Population California Health Interview Survey 2020 https://ask.chis.ucla.edu/AskCHIS/tools/_layouts/AskChisTool/home.aspx

delayed_care_est_chis_2020 Delayed or didn't get medical care last year Estimate (#) Total Population California Health Interview Survey 2020 https://ask.chis.ucla.edu/AskCHIS/tools/_layouts/AskChisTool/home.aspx

delayed_care_est_chis_2020 Delayed or didn't get medical care last year Percent (%) Total Population California Health Interview Survey 2020 https://ask.chis.ucla.edu/AskCHIS/tools/_layouts/AskChisTool/home.aspx

covid_vax_one_or_more_est_2022 COVID-19 Vaccination 1+ Dose Estimate (#) Population 6 months and older LAC DPH Sep-22 publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/coronavirus/vaccine/vaccine-dashboard.htm

covid_vax_one_or_more_perc_2022 COVID-19 Vaccination 1+ Dose Percent (%) Population 6 months and older LAC DPH Sep-22 publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/coronavirus/vaccine/vaccine-dashboard.htm

covid_vax_full_est_2022 COVID-19 Fully Vaccinated Estimate (#) Population 6 months and older LAC DPH Sep-22publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/coronavirus/vaccine/vaccine-dashboard.htm

covid_vax_full_perc_2022 COVID-19 Fully Vaccinated Percent (%) Population 6 months and older LAC DPH Sep-22 publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/coronavirus/vaccine/vaccine-dashboard.htm

covid_vax_one_or_more_children_est_2022 COVID-19 Vaccination 1+ Dose - Children under 5 Estimate (#) Population older than 6 months and under 5 years LAC DPH Sep-22 publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/coronavirus/vaccine/vaccine-dashboard.htm

covid_vax_one_or_more_children_perc_2022 COVID-19 Vaccination 1+ Dose Children under 5 Percent (%) Population older than 6 months and under 5 years LAC DPH Sep-22 publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/coronavirus/vaccine/vaccine-dashboard.htm

covid_vax_one_or_more_youth_est_2022 COVID-19 Vaccination 1+ Dose - Youth 5-17 Estimate (#) Population 5-17 years LAC DPH Sep-22publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/coronavirus/vaccine/vaccine-dashboard.htm

covid_vax_one_or_more_youth_perc_2022 COVID-19 Vaccination 1+ Dose Youth 5-17 Percent (%) Population 5-17 years LAC DPH Sep-22 publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/coronavirus/vaccine/vaccine-dashboard.htm

covid_vax_one_or_more_adults_est_2022 COVID-19 Vaccination 1+ Dose - Adults Estimate (#) Population 18 and older LAC DPH Sep-22 publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/coronavirus/vaccine/vaccine-dashboard.htm

covid_vax_one_or_more_adults_perc_2022 COVID-19 Vaccination 1+ Dose Adults Percent (%) Population 18 and older LAC DPH Sep-22 publichealth.lacounty.gov/media/coronavirus/vaccine/vaccine-dashboard.htm

insured_pop_est_acs_2020 Insured population # Civilian noninstitutionalized population 2016-2020 ACS - S2701 https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0500000US06037&tid=ACSST5Y2020.S2701

insured_pop_perc_acs_2020 Insured population % Civilian noninstitutionalized population 2016-2020 ACS - S2701 https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0500000US06037&tid=ACSST5Y2020.S2701

mch_indicators_2019 Babies Born with Positive MCH Indicators Babies born in time frame Strong Start Index 2016-2019 https://infogram.com/1pj576jwy166z1s6ywvk32l5lkammrym3wy?live

current_asthma Percent of Adults (Ages 18 Years and Older) with Current Asthma Adults Los Angeles County Health Survey 2018 https://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/ha/HA_DATA_TRENDS.htm

no_med_insurance Percent of Insured Adults (Ages 18 Years and Older) Who Reported a Time Without Medical Insurance in the past 12 Months. Adults Los Angeles County Health Survey 2011 https://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/ha/HA_DATA_TRENDS.htm

transportation_problems Percent of Adults (Ages 18 Years and Older) Who Reported That Transportation Problems Kept Them from Obtaining Needed Medical Care in the past Year. Adults Los Angeles County Health Survey 2007 https://www.publichealth.lacounty.gov/ha/HA_DATA_TRENDS.htm

In 1870, the average life expectancy in South Africa was 33.5 years from birth. This life expectancy would remain largely unchanged until the late-1910s, where life expectancy would drop to as low as thirty years as a result of the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic. In the 1930s, life expectancy in South Africa would begin to steadily rise, peaking at over 63 years in 1995, as industrialization and greater access to healthcare and vaccinations led to significantly reduced child mortality rates across the region. However, life expectancy experienced a sudden drop beginning after 1995, as the HIV/AIDS epidemic spread throughout the country, beginning in the early 1990s. As the epidemic spread through the country, life expectancy would fall by almost 10 years, bottoming out below 54 years in 2005. Life expectancy would begin to rise again beginning in the early 2010s however, as access to HIV counselling and treatments, such as antiretroviral therapy, became more widely available throughout the region. Life expectancy in the country is estimated to be almost 64 years from birth in 2020; a return to the pre-HIV figures of the early 1990s.

Data are aggregated from census tract to Countywide Statistical Area (CSA).Link to full report, State of Black LA.For more information about the purpose of this data, please contact CEO-ARDI.For more information about the configuration of this data, please contact ISD-Enterprise GIS. Field Descriptions:

Field

Description

Source

Source Year

csa

Countywide Statistical Area

eGIS

2022

sd

Supervisorial District

eGIS

2021

med_income_total

Average median household income for all residents

US Census ACS 5-year table S1903

2020

med_income_black

Average median household income for Black residents

US Census ACS 5-year table S1903

2020

homeownership_total

Homeownership rate for all residents

US Census ACS 5-year table B25003

2020

homeownership_black

Homeownership rate for Black residents

US Census ACS 5-year table B25003B

2020

eviction_filings_per100_renters

Eviction filings per 100 renter households

The Eviction Lab

2002-2018 (yearly average of available years)

life_expectancy

Average life expectancy

CDC

2015

black_pop

Black population (alone or in combination)

US Census ACS 5-year table DP05

2020

black_pct

% Black population (alone or in combination)

US Census ACS 5-year table DP05

2020

nh_black_pop

Non-Hispanic Black alone population

US Census ACS 5-year table DP05

2020

nh_black_pct

% Non-Hispanic Black alone population

US Census ACS 5-year table DP05

2020

college_grad

Population of residents age 25+ with bachelor degree or higher

US Census ACS 5-year table DP02

2020

college_grad_pct

% of all residents age 25+ with bachelor degree or higher

US Census ACS 5-year table DP02

2020

college_grad_black

Population of Black residents age 25+ with bachelor degree or higher

US Census ACS 5-year table S1501

2020

college_grad_black_pct

% of Black residents age 25+ with bachelor degree or higher

US Census ACS 5-year table S1501

2020

unemployment

Unemployment Rate

US Census ACS 5-year table S2301

2020

unemployment_black

Black (Alone) Unemployment Rate

US Census ACS 5-year table S2301

2020

total_pop

Total population

US Census ACS 5-year table DP05

2020

Shape

CSA Geometry

eGIS

2022

The life expectancy for men aged 65 years in the U.S. has gradually increased since the 1960s. Now men in the United States aged 65 can expect to live 17 more years on average. Women aged 65 years can expect to live around 19.7 more years on average.

Life expectancy in the U.S.

As of 2021, the average life expectancy at birth in the United States was 76.33 years. Life expectancy in the U.S. had steadily increased for many years but has recently dropped slightly. Women consistently have a higher life expectancy than men but have also seen a slight decrease. As of 2019, a woman in the U.S. could be expected to live up to 79.3 years.

Leading causes of death

The leading causes of death in the United States include heart disease, cancer, unintentional injuries, chronic lower respiratory diseases and cerebrovascular diseases. However, heart disease and cancer account for around 38 percent of all deaths. Although heart disease and cancer are the leading causes of death for both men and women, there are slight variations in the leading causes of death. For example, unintentional injury and suicide account for a larger portion of deaths among men than they do among women.

Analysis of ‘Race and Ethnicity - ACS 2015-2019 - Tempe Tracts’ provided by Analyst-2 (analyst-2.ai), based on source dataset retrieved from https://catalog.data.gov/dataset/7d648dd7-85ec-44cb-ac58-e48c25ac9aae on 11 February 2022.

--- Dataset description provided by original source is as follows ---

Notice: The U.S. Census Bureau is delaying the release of the 2016-2020 ACS 5-year data until March 2022. For more information, please read the Census Bureau statement regarding this matter.

-----------------------------------------

This layer shows population broken down by race and Hispanic origin. This layer shows Census data from Esri's Living Atlas and is clipped to only show Tempe census tracts.

This layer is symbolized to show the predominant race living within an area. To see the full list of attributes available in this service, go to the "Data" tab, and choose "Fields" at the top right (in ArcGIS Online).

Data is from US Census American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates.

Vintage: 2015-2019

ACS Table(s): B03002 (Not all lines of this ACS table are available in this feature layer.)

Data downloaded from: Census Bureau's API for American Community Survey

Date of Census update: December 10, 2020

National Figures: data.census.gov

Additional Census data notes and data processing notes are available at the Esri Living Atlas Layer:

https://tempegov.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=23ab8028f1784de4b0810104cd5d1c8f&view=list&sortOrder=desc&sortField=defaultFSOrder#overview

(Esri's Living Atlas always shows latest data)

--- Original source retains full ownership of the source dataset ---

Created for the 2023-2025 State of Black Los Angeles County (SBLA) interactive report. Countywide Statistical Areas (CSA) are current as of October 2023.

Fields ending in _yr1 were calculated for the original 2021-2022 SBLA report, while fields ending in _yr2 or without a year suffix were calculated for the 2023-2025 version. Eviction Filings per 100 (eviction_filings_per100) and Life Expectancy (life_expectancy) did not have updated data and are the same data shown in the Year 1 report.

Population and demographic data are from US Census American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates, aggregated up from census tract or block group to CSA. Year 1 data are from 2020, year 2 data are from 2022.

Poverty Data (200% FPL) are from LA County ISD-eGIS Demographics. Year 1 data are from 2021, Year 2 are from 2022.

The 2023-2025 report includes several new indicators that are calculated as the percent of countywide population by race that resides in a geographic area of interest. Population for these indicators is estimated based on intersection with census block group centroids. These indicators are:

Indicator

Fields

Source

Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) for Primary Care

hpsa_primary_pct hpsa_primary_black_pct

LA County DPH https://data.lacounty.gov/datasets/lacounty::health-professional-shortage-area-primary-care/about

Health Professional Shortage Areas (HPSA) for Mental Health

hpsa_mental_pct hpsa_mental_black_pct

LA County DPH https://data.lacounty.gov/datasets/lacounty::health-professional-shortage-area-mental-health/about

Concentrated Disadvantage

cd_pct cd_black_pct

LA County ISD-Enterprise GIS https://egis-lacounty.hub.arcgis.com/datasets/lacounty::concentrated-disadvantage-index-2022/explore

Firearm Dealers

firearm_dl_count (count of dealers in CSA) firearm_dl_per10000 (rate of dealers per 10,000)

LA County DPH Office of Violence Prevention (OVP)

High and Very High Park Need Areas

parks_need_pct parks_need_black_pct

LA County Parks Needs Assessment Plus (PNA+) https://lacounty.maps.arcgis.com/apps/instant/media/index.html?appid=3d0ef36720b447dcade1ab87a2cc80b9

High Quality Transit Areas

hqta_pct hqta_black_pct

SCAG https://lacounty.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=43e6fef395d041c09deaeb369a513ca1

High Walkability Areas

walk_total_pct walk_black_pct

EPA Walkability Index https://www.epa.gov/smartgrowth/smart-location-mapping#walkability

High Poverty and High Segregation Areas

highpovseg_total_pct highpovseg_black_pct

CTCAC/HCD Opportunity Area Maps https://www.treasurer.ca.gov/ctcac/opportunity.asp

LA County Arts Investments

arts_dollars (total $$ for CSA) arts_dollars_percap (investment dollars per capita)

LA County Department of Arts and Culture https://lacountyartsdata.org/#maps

Strong Start (areas with at least 9 Strong Start indicators)

strongstart_total_pct strongstart_black_pct

CA Strong Start Index https://strongstartindex.org/map

For more information about the purpose of this data, please contact CEO-ARDI.

For more information about the configuration of this data, please contact ISD-Enterprise GIS.

Notice: The U.S. Census Bureau is delaying the release of the 2016-2020 ACS 5-year data until March 2022. For more information, please read the Census Bureau statement regarding this matter.

-----------------------------------------

This layer shows population broken down by race and Hispanic origin. This layer shows Census data from Esri's Living Atlas and is clipped to only show Tempe census tracts.

This layer is symbolized to show the predominant race living within an area. To see the full list of attributes available in this service, go to the "Data" tab, and choose "Fields" at the top right (in ArcGIS Online).

Data is from US Census American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates.

Vintage: 2015-2019

ACS Table(s): B03002 (Not all lines of this ACS table are available in this feature layer.)

Data downloaded from: Census Bureau's API for American Community Survey

Date of Census update: December 10, 2020

National Figures: data.census.gov

Additional Census data notes and data processing notes are available at the Esri Living Atlas Layer:

https://tempegov.maps.arcgis.com/home/item.html?id=23ab8028f1784de4b0810104cd5d1c8f&view=list&sortOrder=desc&sortField=defaultFSOrder#overview

(Esri's Living Atlas always shows latest data)

Link to this report's codebookUnfulfilled Promise of Racial EqualityUS states unequally distribute resources, services, and opportunities by raceThe US is failing to deliver on its promise of racial equality. While the US founding documents assert that ‘all men are created equal,’ this value is not demonstrated in outcomes across areas as diverse and varied as education, justice, health, gender, and pollution. On average, white communities receive resources and services at a rate approximately three times higher, than the least-served racial community (data on Asian, Black, Indigenous, Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, Hispanic, Multiracial and ‘Other’ racial communities, were used as available). Evidence shows that unequal treatment impacts each of these communities, however, it is most often Black and Indigenous communities that are left the furthest behind. When states are scored on how well they deliver the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to the racial group least served, no state is even halfway to achieving the SDGs by 2030 (see Figure 1). To learn more about the Sustainable Development Goals, see the section “SDGs & Accountability.”One example of this inequality is in life expectancy. In Figure 2, the scatter plot on the left demonstrates a pattern in which Black and Indigenous communities, represented by orange and green dots closest to the bottom of the graph, are consistently the communities with least access to years of life. In the graph on the right, each box represents a racial population in a specific state, the boxes are organized from left to right, lowest to highest, according to the life expectancy for that group and state. The graph shows how large the gap is in life expectancy across racial communities and states, with green and orange boxes, representing Indigenous and Black communities respectively, clustered to the left of the graph.Patterns like this one, demonstrating both deep and wide racial inequalities, occur across the 51 indicators this analysis includes, covering 12 of 17 SDGs. In a similar example (Figure 3), a pattern emerges where white students are least likely to attend a school where 75 percent or more of its students receive free or reduced cost lunch when compared to all other racial groups. In the most unequal state, North Dakota, Indigenous students attend high poverty schools at a rate 42 times higher than white students. As Figure 3 shows, although the percentage of students from the least served racial group attending high poverty schools ranges from 2 percent in Vermont to 73 percent in Mississippi, the group least served, represented by the dots closest to the top of the graph, are most often Hispanic and Indigenous communities.Lack of Racial DataMore, and better, racially and ethnically disaggregated data are needed to assess delivery of racial equalityA significant barrier to evaluating progress is the unavailability of racial data across all areas of measurement. For too many important topic areas, such as food insecurity, maternal mortality and lead in drinking water, there is no racial data available at the state level. Even in the areas where there is some racial data, it is often not available for all groups (see Figure 4). Particularly missing, were measures of environmental justice; in Goals focusing on Water, Clean Energy, and Life on Land (Goals 6, 7, and 15), racial data was not found for any indicators, despite the fact that there is research indicating that clean water, for example, is unequally distributed across racial groups. The reasons for these gaps vary. For some indicators, data is not tracked through a nationally organized database, for other indicators, the data is old and out of date, and in many cases, surveys are not large enough to disaggregate by race. As was made clear with the disparate impacts of COVID-19 (for example, see CDC 2020), understanding to whom resources are being distributed has real life implications and is an important part of holding democratic institutions accountable to promises of equality.People are often left behind due to a combination of intersecting identities and factors; they remain hidden in averages. Evaluating the Leave No One Behind Agenda through the lens of gender, ability, class and other identities are undoubtedly important and urgent. Disaggregating data along two axes such as race and location—is revealing. But an even more refined analysis using multilevel disaggregation, such as looking at women and race in urban settings, would likely reveal even starker inequalities. Those are not included here and are important areas for future work. Other areas for further exploration include the use of longitudinal data to understand how these inequalities are changing over time.Though the full extent of this unequal treatment is unknown, this analysis sheds some light on the clouded story told by state averages. Whole group averages leave out important information, particularly about inequality. Racially disaggregated data is essential for holding governments accountable to the promise of racial equity. Without it, it is too easy to hide who is being excluded and left behind.SDGs and AccountabilitySDGs and AccountabilityThe SDGs can be an accountability tool to address racial inequality. This would not be the first time UN frameworks have been used to call attention to racial inequality in the US. In 1951, the Civil Rights Congress (CRC) led by William L. Patterson and Paul Robeson put a petition to the UN, named: “We Charge Genocide,” which charged that the United States government was in violation of the Charter of the United Nations and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (Figure 5). While this attempt did not succeed in charging the US government with genocide, it is a central example of how international instruments can be used to apply localized pressure to advance civil rights.All 193 member countries of the UN, including the United States, signed on to the Sustainable Development Goals in 2015, to be achieved by 2030. The Goals cover 17 wide-ranging topics, with 169 specific targets for action (Figure 6). The first agenda of the SDGs, the Leave No One Behind Agenda (LNOB), requires that those left furthest behind by governments must have the SDGs delivered to them first. The results of this project demonstrate that in a US-context, those left furthest behind would undoubtedly include Asian, Black, Indigenous, Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, Hispanic, Multiracial and ‘Other’ racial communities. The SDGs can offer a template for US states attempting to deliver on their promise of racial equality. The broad topic areas covered by the SDGs, in combination with the Leave No One Behind agenda, can be a tool to hold states accountable for addressing racial inequalities when and through developing solutions for clean water, quality education, ending hunger, delivering justice and more. This highlights an important implication of the Leave No One Behind Agenda, it is not meant to pit communities against each other, but rather to remind us how much everyone has to gain by building and advocating for sustainable communities that serve us all.Explore ResultsExplore the data from the In the Red: the US failure to deliver on a promise of racial equality in our interactive dashboards.These maps display how US states are delivering sustainability across different racial and ethnic groups. As part of the Leave No One Behind Agenda, which maintains that those who have been least served by development progress must be those first addressed through the SDGs, progress toward the goals in each state is displayed based on the racial group with the least access to resources, programs, and services in that state. In other words, the “Overall scores’’ map shows the score for the racial group least served in each state. Click on a state to toggle through the state’s performance by different SDGs, and click on an indicator to view how a state performs on a given indicator. At the indicator level, horizontal bar charts show the racial disparity in the selected indicator and state, when data is available.AboutIn the Red: the US Failure to Deliver on a Promise of Racial EqualityIn the Red: the US Failure to Deliver on a Promise of Racial Equality project highlights measurable gaps in how states deliver sustainability to different racial groups. The full report can be read here. It extends an earlier report, Never More Urgent, looking at policies and practices that have led to the inequalities described in this project. It was prepared by a group of independent experts at SDSN and Howard University.UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN)The UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) mobilizes scientific and technical expertise from academia, civil society, and the private sector to support practical problem solving for sustainable development at local, national, and global scales. The SDSN has been operating since 2012 under the auspices of the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. The SDSN is building national and regional networks of knowledge institutions, solution-focused thematic networks, and the SDG Academy, an online university for sustainable development.SDSN USASDSN USA is a network of 150+ research institutions across the United States and unincorporated territories. The network builds pathways toward achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in the United States by mobilizing research, outreach, collective action, and global cooperation. SDSN USA is one of more than 40 national and regional SDSN networks globally. It is hosted by the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) in New York City, and is chaired by Professors Jeffrey Sachs (Columbia University), Helen Bond (Howard University), Dan Esty (Yale University), and Gordon McCord (UC San Diego).

Notice: The U.S. Census Bureau is delaying the release of the 2016-2020 ACS 5-year data until March 2022. For more information, please read the Census Bureau statement regarding this matter.

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This layer shows age and sex demographics in Tempe. Data is from US Census American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates and joined with Tempe census tracts.

This layer is symbolized to the percent of the population ages 18 to 24 years old. To see the full list of attributes available in this service, go to the "Data" tab, and choose "Fields" at the top right (in ArcGIS Online).

Layer includes:

Key demographics

• Total population
• Male total population
• Female total population
• Percent male total population (calculated)
• Percent female total population (calculated)

Age and other indicators

• Total population by AGE (various ranges)
• Total population by SELECTED AGE CATEGORIES (various ranges)
• Total population by SUMMARY INDICATORS (including median age, sex ratio, age dependency ratio, old age dependency ratio, child dependency ratio)
• Percent total population by AGE (various ranges)
• Percent total population by SELECTED AGE CATEGORIES (various ranges)

Male by age

• Male total population by AGE (various ranges)
• Male total population by SELECTED AGE CATEGORIES (various ranges)
• Male total population Median age (years)
• Percent male total population by AGE (various ranges)
• Percent male total population by SELECTED AGE CATEGORIES (various ranges)

Female by age

• Female total population by AGE (various ranges)
• Female total population by SELECTED AGE CATEGORIES (various ranges)
• Female total population Median age (years)
• Percent female total population by AGE (various ranges)
• Percent female total population by SELECTED AGE CATEGORIES (various ranges)

Data is from US Census American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year estimates.

Current Vintage: 2015-2019

ACS Table(s): S0101 (Not all lines of this ACS table are available in this feature layer.)

Data downloaded from: Census Bureau's API for American Community Survey

Date of Census update: December 10, 2020

National Figures: data.census.gov

Over the last two observations, the life expectancy has significantly increased in all gender groups Comparing the two different gender groups for the year 2023, the 'life expectancy of women at birth' leads the ranking with 69.6 years. Contrastingly, 'life expectancy of men at birth' is ranked last, with 62.61 years. Their difference, compared to life expectancy of women at birth, lies at 6.99 years. Life expectancy at birth refers to the number of years that the average newborn can expect to live, providing that mortality patterns at the time of their birth do not change thereafter.Find further similar statistics for other countries or regions like Iran and Angola.

In the past four centuries, the population of the Thirteen Colonies and United States of America has grown from a recorded 350 people around the Jamestown colony in Virginia in 1610, to an estimated 346 million in 2025. While the fertility rate has now dropped well below replacement level, and the population is on track to go into a natural decline in the 2040s, projected high net immigration rates mean the population will continue growing well into the next century, crossing the 400 million mark in the 2070s. Indigenous population Early population figures for the Thirteen Colonies and United States come with certain caveats. Official records excluded the indigenous population, and they generally remained excluded until the late 1800s. In 1500, in the first decade of European colonization of the Americas, the native population living within the modern U.S. borders was believed to be around 1.9 million people. The spread of Old World diseases, such as smallpox, measles, and influenza, to biologically defenseless populations in the New World then wreaked havoc across the continent, often wiping out large portions of the population in areas that had not yet made contact with Europeans. By the time of Jamestown's founding in 1607, it is believed the native population within current U.S. borders had dropped by almost 60 percent. As the U.S. expanded, indigenous populations were largely still excluded from population figures as they were driven westward, however taxpaying Natives were included in the census from 1870 to 1890, before all were included thereafter. It should be noted that estimates for indigenous populations in the Americas vary significantly by source and time period. Migration and expansion fuels population growth The arrival of European settlers and African slaves was the key driver of population growth in North America in the 17th century. Settlers from Britain were the dominant group in the Thirteen Colonies, before settlers from elsewhere in Europe, particularly Germany and Ireland, made a large impact in the mid-19th century. By the end of the 19th century, improvements in transport technology and increasing economic opportunities saw migration to the United States increase further, particularly from southern and Eastern Europe, and in the first decade of the 1900s the number of migrants to the U.S. exceeded one million people in some years. It is also estimated that almost 400,000 African slaves were transported directly across the Atlantic to mainland North America between 1500 and 1866 (although the importation of slaves was abolished in 1808). Blacks made up a much larger share of the population before slavery's abolition. Twentieth and twenty-first century The U.S. population has grown steadily since 1900, reaching one hundred million in the 1910s, two hundred million in the 1960s, and three hundred million in 2007. Since WWII, the U.S. has established itself as the world's foremost superpower, with the world's largest economy, and most powerful military. This growth in prosperity has been accompanied by increases in living standards, particularly through medical advances, infrastructure improvements, clean water accessibility. These have all contributed to higher infant and child survival rates, as well as an increase in life expectancy (doubling from roughly 40 to 80 years in the past 150 years), which have also played a large part in population growth. As fertility rates decline and increases in life expectancy slows, migration remains the largest factor in population growth. Since the 1960s, Latin America has now become the most common origin for migrants in the U.S., while immigration rates from Asia have also increased significantly. It remains to be seen how immigration restrictions of the current administration affect long-term population projections for the United States.

In the 1824 U.S presidential election, which was the first where a popular vote was used to determine the overall winner, approximately three percent of the U.S. population voted in the election, while only one percent actually voted for the winner. Over the following decades, restrictions that prevented non-property owning males from voting were gradually repealed, and almost all white men over the age of 21 could vote by the 1856 election. The next major development was the 15th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution following the American Civil War, which granted suffrage to all male citizens of voting age, regardless of race. Turnout then grew to almost twenty percent at the turn of the century, however Jim Crow laws played a large part in keeping these numbers lower than they potentially could have been, by disenfranchising black communities in the south and undoing much of the progress made during the Reconstruction Era. Extension of voting rights Female suffrage, granted to women in 1920, was responsible for the largest participation increase between any two elections in U.S. history. Between the 1916 and 1920 elections, overall turnout increased by almost seven percent, and it continued to grow to 38 percent by the 1940 election; largely due to the growth in female participation over time. Following a slight reduction during the Second World War and 1948 elections, turnout remained at between 36 and forty percent from the 1950s until the 1990s. Between these decades, the Voting Rights Act of 1965 and the Twenty-Sixth Amendment in 1971 respectively re-enfranchised many black voters in the south and reduced the voting age in all states from 21 to 18 years old. Participation among female voters has also exceeded male participation in all elections since 1980. Recent trends The 1992 election was the first where more than forty percent of the total population cast ballots, and turnout has been above forty percent in all presidential elections since 2004. Along with the extension of voting rights, the largest impact on voter turnout has been the increase in life expectancy throughout the centuries, almost doubling in the past 150 years. As the overall average age has risen, so too has the share of the total population who are eligible to vote, and older voters have had the highest turnout rates since the 1980s. Another factor is increased political involvement among ethnic minorities; while white voters have traditionally had the highest turnout rates in presidential elections, black voters turnout has exceeded the national average since 2008. Asian and Hispanic voter turnouts have also increased in the past twenty years, with the growing Hispanic vote in southern and border states expected to cause a major shift in U.S. politics in the coming decades.

In terms of the most popular presidents, in the 1940 election, Franklin D. Roosevelt became the first president to have been elected by more than one fifth of the total population. Three presidents were elected by more than 22 percent of the total population, respectively Lyndon B. Johnson in 1964, Richard Nixon in 1972 and Barack Obama in 2008, while Ronald Reagan's re-election in 1984 saw him become the only president in U.S. history to win with the support of more than 23 percent of the total population. While the vote count for the 2020 election is still to be finalized, President-elect Joe Biden has already received 81.28 million votes as of December 02, which would also translate to over 24.5 percent of the total population, and will likely near 25 percent by the end of the counting process.

In 1800, the population of modern day area of South Africa was approximately 1.44 million. Like most of the continent, the population of South Africa increased gradually through most of the 19th century, reaching 4.71 million by the start of the 20th century. Beginning in the 20th century however, the population would begin to rise exponentially as industrialization, advances in medicine and health, and the spread of vaccinations allowed for lower child mortality rates and increased life expectancy among adults. The population of South Africa would continue to rise exponentially for almost a century, going from just under 5 million at the start of the 1900s to almost 45 million by 2000. However, since the early 2000s, South Africa’s population growth has slowed, the result of a significant decrease in fertility rates in the country in recent years. In 2020, South Africa is estimated to have a population of 59.31 million.

Nigeria has the largest population in Africa. As of 2025, the country counted over 237.5 million individuals, whereas Ethiopia, which ranked second, has around 135.5 million inhabitants. Egypt registered the largest population in North Africa, reaching nearly 118.4 million people. In terms of inhabitants per square kilometer, Nigeria only ranked seventh, while Mauritius had the highest population density on the whole African continent in 2023. The fastest-growing world region Africa is the second most populous continent in the world, after Asia. Nevertheless, Africa records the highest growth rate worldwide, with figures rising by over two percent every year. In some countries, such as Chad, South Sudan, Somalia, and the Central African Republic, the population increase peaks at over 3.4 percent. With so many births, Africa is also the youngest continent in the world. However, this coincides with a low life expectancy. African cities on the rise The last decades have seen high urbanization rates in Asia, mainly in China and India. African cities are also growing at large rates. Indeed, the continent has three megacities and is expected to add four more by 2050. Furthermore, Africa's fastest-growing cities are forecast to be Bujumbura, in Burundi, and Zinder, Nigeria, by 2035.