What aspect heavily influences life expectancy in a population?

The aspect that heavily influences life expectancy in a population is infant mortality rates. High infant mortality rates can be indicative of inadequate healthcare, poor maternal health, malnutrition, and insufficient access to clean water and sanitation. When infants die at high rates, it significantly lowers the overall life expectancy of the population. This is because life expectancy is often calculated as an average of the years lived by all individuals in a population, and when many infants do not survive, it drastically reduces this average.

Furthermore, improvements in public health measures that reduce infant mortality directly contribute to increased life expectancy. For instance, better prenatal care, vaccinations, nutrition programs, and access to healthcare services play crucial roles in ensuring infants survive past their early years. Therefore, monitoring and improving infant mortality rates are critical focal points for enhancing life expectancy in a population.