Comparing life expectancy of indigenous people in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United States: conceptual, methodological and data issues

Numerous studies have indicated that the gap between indigenous and non indigenous people's life expectancy in Australia is greater than in New Zealand, Canada and the United States of America (USA). However, difficulties related to concepts, data and methods behind such estimates throw doubt on conclusions drawn from country comparison studies. This report suggests that the uncertainty associated with indigenous life expectancy estimates could be quite large. Consequently, it is difficult to draw conclusions regarding cross-country differences.