MUMBAI, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Life expectancy of Indians has dropped by close to two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic, as per statistical analysis published by a Mumbai-based state-run institution on Saturday.

"The life expectancy at birth in 2019 was 69.5 years for men and 72 years for women, which came down to 67.5 years and 69.8 years, respectively, in 2020," said the study published in the health journal by Mumbai's civic body.

The study was authored by Suryakant Yadav, an assistant professor at the city-based International Institute for Population Studies to look at the burden repercussions of the pandemic on mortality patterns in Asia's third largest economy.

"The 35-79 age group had excess deaths caused by COVID-19 in 2020 as compared to normal years and it is this group that has contributed immensely to the drop," Yadav said in his study.

So far, India has reported 453,708 deaths due to COVID-19.

According to Yadav, the pandemic has wiped out the progress made in the last decade to increase the life expectancy figure and India's life expectancy at birth now is the same as it was in 2010. Enditem

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