Indicator 24: Disability-free life expectancy

ILE is the number of years expected to be lived free of functional limitation and without needing assistance.^[1] It is derived from bringing together life expectancy data^[2] and disability survey data.^[3] It has been used as the peak health indicator by the Ministry of Social Development and the Ministry of Health.^[4]

Figures 1 compares the years of ILE for men and women at birth for 1996, 2001, and 2006. It shows that:

• the years of ILE increased for men and women;
• ILE increased more for men; and
• men had a lower ILE.

Figure 2 shows ILE for men and women compared to life expectancy, at birth and at age 65, in 2006. It shows that women were expected to live longer than men and have more years of ILE.

Figure 3 compares the life expectancy and ILE for men and women at birth by ethnicity for 2006. It shows that non-Māori were expected to live longer than Māori and have more years of ILE.

The Ministry of Health and Statistics New Zealand have used existing data to discuss how to increase understanding of health expectancy indicators, standardise their calculation, and consider which health expectancy indicators should be used, reported, and their usefulness evaluated.^[5] A suitable health expectancy indicator is planned to be elevated to Tier 1 status in the Official Statistic System from 2014/15.^[6]

• Ministry of Health
• Statistics New Zealand