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Thursday, May. 29, 2025

Is the life expectancy in Arizona’s Apache County lower than in North Korea?

Carmela Guaglianone, Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting
yes

The life expectancy at birth for residents in Arizona’s Apache County was about 70 years in 2022, the most recent year for which data is available. The estimated life expectancy in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, or North Korea, is 73.5 years, according to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency. 

Apache County’s life expectancy is the shortest of all Arizona counties, and roughly 10 years lower than the statewide average. 

More than 70% of Apache County’s population is Native American. Indigenous communities in the state tend to have higher rates of chronic illness and limited access to health care—circumstances that have been linked to shorter life expectancies.

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The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is the state’s only independent, nonpartisan and collaborative nonprofit newsroom dedicated to statewide, data-driven investigative reporting. AZCIR's mission is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable by exposing injustice and systemic inequities through investigative journalism.

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