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Life Expectancy in the Tropics

If it were true that the poor were just like the rich but with less money, the global situation would be vastly easier than it is. As it happens, the poor live in different ecological zones, face different health conditions and must overcome agronomic limitations that are very different from those of rich countries. Those differences indeed are often a fundamental cause of persisting poverty. Not only life but also death differs between temperate and tropical zones. Individuals in temperate zones almost everywhere enjoy a life expectancy of 70 years or more. In the tropics, however, life expectancy is generally much shorter. One big reason is that populations are burdened by diseases such as malaria, hookworm, sleeping sickness and schistosomiasis, whose transmission generally depends on a warm climate. (...) Life expectancy in the highly indebted poor countries averages just 51 years, reflecting the interacting effects of tropical diseases and poverty. The economic evidence strongly suggests that short life expectancy is not just a result of poverty. But it is also a powerful cause of impoverishment.

The National Peace Corps Association, World View, Summer 2000 Vol 13 N°3 Page 28