The average life expectancy in China's biggest economic powerhouse Guangdong Province has increased by 44 years since the People's Republic of China was founded in 1949, the provincial health authorities said Saturday. The average life expectancy was 75 in 2008, up from 31 in 1949, while the mortality decreased from 1.5 percent to 0.46 percent. The province has witnessed great improvement in health resources. It had only 4.47 doctors and 3.87 hospital beds for per 10,000 people in 1950, and the figures have grown to 15.14 and 26.25 respectively. Guangdong Province has taken the lead in China's economic development for 20 consecutive years since 1989. It's gross domestic product last year was near 3,570 billion yuan (about 523 billion U.S. dollars), or about 5,400 U.S. dollars per capita. 