It Was 70 in 1970 but only 69 in 1986 : Soviets Report Drop in Life Expectancy

Soviet officials have disclosed that life expectancy in the Soviet Union in 1986 was lower than it was in 1970. They said that men and women born in 1986 could expect to live 69 years. Sixteen years ago the figure was 70.

According to M.A. Korolev, head of the Central Statistical Board, the life expectancy figure for 1986, even though lower than the figure for 1970, represents the first improvement in a decade for this key health indicator.

Korolev said at a news conference that male life expectancy declined to a low of 62.3 years in 1980-81, compared with 70.3 years for American men in the same period. Life expectancy for American men at present is 71.1 years.

The relative improvement registered in 1986, according to Gennady I. Gerasimov, chief spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, is attributable largely to a decline in the infant mortality rate.

Anti-Alcohol Campaign

The anti-alcohol campaign started by Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev was cited as a major factor in what was called a “significant decline” in the death rate, from 10.6 per 1,000 in 1985 to 9.5 per 1,000 last year.

Korolev said this figure dropped mainly because of a reduction in the number of industrial accidents attributed to drinking on the job by working-age men.

Overall, he gave a glowing report on Soviet economic performance in 1986, including sizable increases in industrial production, national income, farm output and capital investment.

“We overcame stagnation, and the declining growth rates of the late 1970s and the early 1980s have shown a turn for the better,” Korolev said.

He said that national income was up by 4.1% last year, compared with an average increase for the preceding five years of 3.6%. Industrial output rose by 4.9% in 1986, contrasted with 3.7% in the previous five years, while capital investment was up by 6.0%, or almost double the 3.1% averaged in the last five-year plan, the figures showed.

A Few Dark Areas

The statistical portrait of the Soviet Union also acknowledged a few dark areas, however, including a continuing shortage of housing and medical services. But even so, Korolev said, a total of 2.1 million new apartments with a record 180 million square meters of living space were put into use last year.

Korolev said that many of the figures published in the 1986 annual report were kept secret in the past. He said there is a greater need for openness to counter false rumors about Soviet achievements and present an objective picture.

Other highlights of the report:

--Population. There were 281.7 million people in the Soviet Union at the end of the year, and there will be more than 300 million people by the year 2000.

--Pay. Average monthly wages of industrial workers before taxes rose from 190 rubles to 195 rubles ($285 to $292.50 at the official exchange rate). Farm workers’ average pay went up from 153 rubles to 159 rubles a month ($230.50 to $238.50).

108 Million Students

--Schools. A total of 108 million students are enrolled in school of some kind; 89% of the population has at least 10 years of education.

--Energy. A 3% drop in atomic energy production was attributed to the nuclear reactor disaster at Chernobyl last April. Overall, energy output fell short of meeting its target by 0.3% but still increased over the previous year.

--Alcohol. Production of alcoholic beverages declined by 35% since the previous year, and 1986 sales were only 63% of the previous year’s receipts. Korolev said the financial loss to the state was offset by other benefits, such as the lower industrial accident rate.

The report included even such statistics as the share of the Soviet population that regularly engages in physical exercise (one-third) and the number of housewarming parties given by the occupants of new apartments (10 million).