The world as a whole gained 23.7 years of life expectancy since the early 1950s (table 1), reaching a level of 70.5 years in the years from 2010 to 2015. During this same period, the less developed regions gained 27.2 years of life expectancy, double the gain in the more developed regions, due in substantial part to large reductions in child mortality, which in the developed regions had already occurred by 1950. Latin America and the Caribbean had the highest level of life expectancy among large developing regions throughout this period, rising from 51.2 years in 1950-1955 to 74.5 years in 2010-2015 (table 1).