Life expectancy rises in China

China's average life expectancy rose to 74.83 years as of the end of 2010, according to the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).

The NBS used data from the sixth national census to calculate the figure, which is 3.43 years greater than that of 2000, the NBS said Thursday.

A spokesman for the NBS population department said life expectancy will continue to climb due to improved medical services amid the country's rapid economic growth.

Analyzed by gender, the average life expectancy among Chinese men was 72.38 years, 2.75 years longer than that of 2000. Meanwhile, the average life expectancy for Chinese women rose 4.04 years to 77.37 years.

The female-male gap widened to 4.99 years in 2010 from 3.7 years in 2000, according to the NBS.

Data provided by the NBS showed that while the average global life expectancy was 69.6 years in 2010, those living in high-income countries or regions enjoyed an average lifespan of 79.8 years.

China's population grew to 1.33 billion people as of the end of the sixth census last year, 73.9 million more than that of 2000, when the fifth census was conducted, according to figures released by the NBS last year.

The census data showed that the number of Chinese people aged 60 or above stood at 118.85 million in 2010, accounting for 13.26 percent of the total population.

A human rights action plan released by the Chinese government in June predicted that the number of Chinese people aged above 65 will rise sharply to 323 million, or more than 23 percent of the nation's population, by 2050.