After a sharp increase of deaths, life expectancy in Quebec dropped in 2020, according to a report published by the Institut de la statistique du Québec on Wednesday.
In 2020, life expectancy at birth within the province was at 80.6 for men and 84.0 for women—a drop of 0.4 years, five months, and 0.7 years, eighth months respectively, when compared to 2019.
The report said that the fall in life expectancy is due to the amount of deaths linked to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The number of deaths started to rise significantly in late March when the first deaths associated with COVID-19 were recorded,” the report said. “Numbers spiked in April and May; the increase was less pronounced towards the end of the year.”
The number of deaths recorded in Quebec in 2020 was about 74,550, which was an increase of 6,740 or 10 per cent over 2019. Between 2010 and 2019, the average annual increase of deaths was less than 2 per cent. The report said that the increase of deaths on this scale was “remarkable.”
The death rate for people aged over 60 rose significantly from 2019 to 2020, which is in contrast with trends from recent years. In all age groups over 80, the death rate increased by over 8 per cent.
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