New data has found that the average life expectancy for South Koreans stands at 83-point-five years.

Statistics Korea said Wednesday that South Korean babies born last year can expect to live for an average of 83-point-five years. That’s up point-two years from 2019 and up three-point-two years from a decade earlier.

By gender, life expectancy was 80-point-five years for boys and 86-point-five years for girls, registering a difference of six years. Since hitting a peak of eight-point-six years in 1985, the gap has been narrowing every year.

The average life expectancy for South Koreans was longer than the average for the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development(OECD) member states by two-point-six years for boys and three-point-three years for girls.

The statistics agency said cancer was the biggest factor attributed to a reduction in life expectancy. 

The agency said around 26-point-four percent of boys and nearly 16 percent of girls born last year are at risk of dying of cancer. Heart disease was cited as the second most probable cause of death followed by pneumonia. The agency also found that sepsis saw the sharpest surge among causes of death last year. 

The agency also found that by region, Seoul ranked at the top in terms of life expectancy with 84-point-eight years, followed by Sejong with 84-point-four. North Chungcheong Province and North Gyeongsang Province ranked at the bottom with an average of 82-point-six years.