A new study reveals a troubling truth: the gap in life expectancy between racial and ethnic groups in the United States has nearly doubled since 2000. While some Americans are living as long as people in Japan or Switzerland, others face life spans comparable to those in the world’s poorest nations.
Native Americans in the western U.S. now have an average life expectancy below 64 years—similar to that in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. In contrast, Asian Americans average 84 years, rivaling the highest global standards. “This is like comparing very different countries,” said Tom Bollyky, a study author and director at the Council on Foreign Relations.
The “Ten Americas” analysis, published in The Lancet, shows that where people live, their income, and their race or ethnicity are powerful predictors of how long they’ll live. Native Americans often live in poverty, lack access to clean water and grocery stores, and face chronic underfunding of the Indian Health Service. These conditions contributed to devastating COVID-19 outcomes, with one in every 188 Navajo people dying during the pandemic’s peak.
Black Americans have also faced persistent health disparities, though life expectancy improved from 2000 to 2012 due to better education and access to treatments. But progress stalled by 2016, and income disparities remain stark. All three Black population groups studied had average incomes below \$30,000, compared to \$50,000 for many white and Asian Americans.
Latinos, despite lower education levels, historically lived longer than white Americans. But COVID-19 reversed that trend in the Southwest, where Latino and Black people were nearly twice as likely to die from the virus.
Researchers argue that addressing these disparities requires structural change—investments in education, healthcare, housing, and even reparations. Without bold action, the U.S. risks falling further behind in global health.
See: “The Growing Inequality in Life Expectancy Among Americans” (January 22, 2025)
