What is life expectancy at birth?

The average number of years a newborn would live if the death rates of a given year applied for their whole life. It is a summary of that year's mortality, not a prediction for an individual.

Which country has the highest life expectancy?

In 2023, Monaco at 86.4 years. The ranking changes by a few tenths of a year between neighbouring countries, so small differences are not meaningful.

Why is life expectancy different for women and men?

Men die earlier on average in nearly every country, mostly from higher rates of injury and tobacco-related illness in adulthood. The gap is published separately in every life table and we show both figures.

Life expectancy by country, 1950 to 2023

Life expectancy by country

Life expectancy at birth is the average number of years a newborn would live if the age-specific death rates of one year applied throughout their life. In 2023, the figure ranged from 54.5 years in Nigeria to 86.4 years in Monaco.

e0 = Σ (survivors at each age) ÷ (the birth cohort), computed from the life table's lx column

Source: UN World Population Prospects 2024, single-age life tables

What the number does and does not mean

"At birth" means the average for a whole cohort, not a limit on any person. It is also a period measure: it applies one year's death rates to an entire life, which no real cohort experiences. A country whose mortality falls over time will see its actual cohort live longer than the period figure. We use the period figure because that is what the UN publishes, and we label it as such.

The gap between women and men

In most countries women live longer. The gap is widest where adult male mortality from injury is high and narrowest where both sexes face similar risks. The table shows both figures separately for every location.

Birth-weighted world figures: 72.5 years for girls, 68.0 for boys, 70.3 for both sexes, over 237 of 237 locations.

Change since 1950

The world figure rose +28.1 years between 1950 and 2023. The rise was fastest in countries that started lowest, which is why the distribution has narrowed even as the average has risen.

World figures on this page are birth-weighted averages of the 237 national values, computed by us from the published series. They are not UN-published world aggregates; the formula for each is stated above.

Life expectancy at birth, 2023, by sex
#	Country	Both sexes	Female	Male	Change since 1950
1	Monaco	86.4	88.5	84.4	+18.4
2	San Marino	85.7	87.1	84.2	+14.1
3	China, Hong Kong SAR	85.5	88.1	82.8	+27.7
4	Japan	84.7	87.7	81.7	+25.5
5	Republic of Korea	84.3	87.2	81.2	+62.1
6	Saint Barthélemy	84.3	86.8	81.5	+30.3
7	French Polynesia	84.1	86.5	81.8	+32.2
8	Andorra	84.0	86.1	82.1	+16.9
9	Switzerland	84.0	85.8	82.0	+15.0
10	Australia	83.9	85.7	82.1	+14.9
11	Singapore	83.7	86.2	81.2	+29.6
12	Italy	83.7	85.7	81.6	+18.0
13	Spain	83.7	86.3	81.0	+21.9
14	Liechtenstein	83.6	85.3	81.8	+18.3
15	Gibraltar	83.6	86.1	80.9	+18.5
16	Réunion	83.5	86.3	80.5	+36.0
17	France	83.3	86.1	80.4	+16.9
18	Norway	83.3	84.8	81.7	+11.7
19	Malta	83.3	85.3	81.3	+19.8
20	Guernsey	83.3	85.6	81.0	+12.0
21	Sweden	83.3	85.1	81.4	+12.1
22	China, Macao SAR	83.1	85.2	80.8	+24.7
23	Holy See	83.0	85.1	80.8	+17.1
24	United Arab Emirates	82.9	84.2	82.0	+40.8
25	Iceland	82.7	84.5	81.0	+11.7
26	Canada	82.6	84.8	80.4	+14.4
27	Martinique	82.6	85.6	79.3	+27.6
28	Ireland	82.4	84.5	80.4	+16.8
29	Israel	82.4	84.6	80.2	+12.5
30	Qatar	82.4	83.4	81.6	+31.6
31	Portugal	82.4	85.1	79.4	+23.9
32	Bermuda	82.3	85.7	78.9	+21.9
33	Luxembourg	82.2	83.8	80.6	+16.7
34	Netherlands	82.2	83.7	80.5	+10.7
35	Belgium	82.1	84.3	79.9	+15.8
36	New Zealand	82.1	83.8	80.4	+12.8
37	Guadeloupe	82.1	85.5	78.1	+29.0
38	Austria	82.0	84.3	79.5	+17.1
39	Denmark	81.9	83.9	80.0	+11.6
40	Finland	81.9	84.7	79.2	+17.7
41	Greece	81.9	84.3	79.3	+15.6
42	Puerto Rico	81.7	85.2	78.0	+21.3
43	Cyprus	81.6	83.7	79.6	+25.8
44	Slovenia	81.6	84.3	78.9	+19.8
45	Germany	81.4	83.8	79.0	+14.6
46	United Kingdom	81.3	83.2	79.4	+12.7
47	Bahrain	81.3	82.0	80.7	+42.7
48	Chile	81.2	83.1	79.2	+28.0
49	Maldives	81.0	82.8	79.7	+44.6
50	Isle of Man	81.0	83.1	78.9	+17.9
51	Costa Rica	80.8	83.4	78.1	+23.3
52	China, Taiwan Province of China	80.6	83.6	77.6	+24.0
53	Kuwait	80.4	81.8	79.3	+30.7
54	Cayman Islands	80.4	82.9	78.0	+26.3
55	Saint Martin (French part)	80.2	83.8	76.8	+15.1
56	Faroe Islands	80.2	82.5	78.2	+19.6
57	Oman	80.0	81.9	78.5	+50.7
58	Czechia	79.8	82.6	77.0	+15.4
59	Jersey	79.7	81.8	77.7	+10.3
60	Albania	79.6	81.4	77.7	+35.1
61	Panama	79.6	82.6	76.7	+24.2
62	Anguilla	79.3	82.7	76.0	+24.3
63	United States of America	79.3	81.8	76.9	+11.2
64	Falkland Islands (Malvinas)	79.2	81.2	77.2	+29.7
65	Estonia	79.2	83.0	74.9	+12.8
66	Northern Mariana Islands	78.8	80.7	77.1	+20.6
67	New Caledonia	78.8	81.3	76.3	+33.7
68	Saudi Arabia	78.7	81.2	77.1	+38.7
69	Poland	78.6	82.4	74.9	+20.3
70	Wallis and Futuna Islands	78.6	79.6	77.7	+34.5
71	Croatia	78.6	81.7	75.4	+20.1
72	Slovakia	78.3	81.6	75.0	+17.6
73	Uruguay	78.1	81.9	74.2	+12.6
74	Cuba	78.1	80.5	75.7	+19.1
75	Kosovo (under UNSC res. 1244)	78.0	80.1	75.8	+34.5
76	Turks and Caicos Islands	78.0	80.3	75.8	+29.4
77	China	78.0	80.9	75.2	+34.1
78	Bosnia and Herzegovina	77.9	80.9	74.4	+30.5
79	Lebanon	77.8	79.7	75.7	+17.9
80	Jordan	77.8	80.2	75.7	+36.9
81	Peru	77.7	80.1	75.4	+31.7
82	Colombia	77.7	80.5	75.0	+29.4
83	Iran (Islamic Republic of)	77.7	79.6	75.8	+39.5
84	Antigua and Barbuda	77.6	80.3	74.5	+19.5
85	Sri Lanka	77.5	80.6	74.2	+24.3
86	Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba	77.4	80.2	75.2	+15.9
87	Argentina	77.4	79.9	74.8	+16.1
88	North Macedonia	77.4	79.6	75.1	+26.8
89	Ecuador	77.4	80.1	74.7	+28.9
90	British Virgin Islands	77.3	80.0	74.5	+23.9
91	Guam	77.2	81.4	73.4	+17.6
92	Türkiye	77.2	79.9	74.5	+29.9
93	Montenegro	77.1	80.3	73.7	+19.1
94	Tokelau	77.1	78.9	75.0	+22.4
95	Hungary	77.0	80.2	73.7	+14.9
96	French Guiana	77.0	80.0	74.1	+29.2
97	Curaçao	76.8	80.8	72.5	+16.5
98	Saint Helena	76.8	80.6	73.9	+10.8
99	Serbia	76.8	80.0	73.5	+21.7
100	Saint Pierre and Miquelon	76.8	81.5	72.8	+13.8
101	Malaysia	76.7	79.4	74.3	+28.2
102	Tunisia	76.5	79.1	73.9	+38.3
103	Thailand	76.4	80.9	72.2	+31.2
104	Sint Maarten (Dutch part)	76.4	79.5	73.7	+13.9
105	Aruba	76.4	78.8	73.7	+18.4
106	Algeria	76.3	77.7	74.9	+33.6
107	Latvia	76.2	80.5	71.6	+11.6
108	Montserrat	76.2	78.8	74.1	+27.6
109	Barbados	76.2	78.6	73.6	+22.6
110	Cabo Verde	76.1	79.2	72.9	+31.1
111	Mayotte	76.1	78.3	74.1	+33.8
112	Lithuania	76.0	80.7	71.2	+10.0
113	Romania	75.9	79.6	72.4	+15.4
114	Brazil	75.8	79.0	72.8	+27.3
115	Armenia	75.7	79.5	71.4	+21.1
116	Bulgaria	75.6	79.2	72.2	+14.2
117	United States Virgin Islands	75.5	81.4	70.5	+15.6
118	Brunei Darussalam	75.3	77.6	73.3	+24.8
119	Morocco	75.3	77.6	73.2	+36.5
120	Cook Islands	75.3	79.0	71.9	+37.3
121	Grenada	75.2	78.4	72.4	+22.5
122	Mexico	75.1	77.8	72.2	+31.2
123	Nicaragua	74.9	77.4	72.3	+34.3
124	Mauritius	74.9	78.2	71.9	+23.0
125	Bangladesh	74.7	76.4	73.0	+37.3
126	Viet Nam	74.6	79.3	69.9	+26.5
127	Bahamas	74.6	78.2	70.9	+15.7
128	Georgia	74.5	79.1	69.6	+16.8
129	Belarus	74.4	79.1	69.5	+15.8
130	Azerbaijan	74.4	77.1	71.6	+28.1
131	Kazakhstan	74.4	78.4	70.1	+18.8
132	Paraguay	73.8	77.0	70.9	+15.8
133	Dominican Republic	73.7	77.0	70.5	+29.7
134	Dem. People's Republic of Korea	73.6	75.7	71.5	+59.4
135	Suriname	73.6	76.8	70.5	+22.9
136	Belize	73.6	76.5	70.9	+24.4
137	Trinidad and Tobago	73.5	76.7	70.4	+16.5
138	Ukraine	73.4	80.2	66.9	+12.3
139	Russian Federation	73.2	79.0	67.3	+17.7
140	Bhutan	73.0	75.0	71.3	+37.7
141	Tonga	72.9	76.4	69.4	+24.5
142	Honduras	72.9	75.5	70.3	+31.8
143	Seychelles	72.9	76.5	69.9	+15.0
144	American Samoa	72.9	75.8	70.2	+13.7
145	Saint Lucia	72.7	76.3	69.3	+24.4
146	Guatemala	72.6	74.9	70.3	+34.8
147	Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)	72.5	76.5	68.7	+21.4
148	Uzbekistan	72.4	75.4	69.5	+19.0
149	Iraq	72.3	74.1	70.4	+34.9
150	Saint Kitts and Nevis	72.1	76.0	68.6	+17.4
151	Syrian Arab Republic	72.1	74.4	69.8	+29.7
152	El Salvador	72.1	76.3	67.5	+27.9
153	India	72.0	73.6	70.5	+30.8
154	Tajikistan	71.8	74.0	69.6	+22.4
155	Mongolia	71.7	76.4	67.2	+33.1
156	Samoa	71.7	73.7	69.9	+22.5
157	Kyrgyzstan	71.7	75.2	68.2	+19.6
158	Egypt	71.6	73.8	69.5	+37.7
159	Jamaica	71.5	74.0	69.0	+14.9
160	Vanuatu	71.5	73.9	69.4	+27.5
161	Western Sahara	71.4	73.5	69.7	+36.5
162	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	71.2	74.3	68.7	+24.3
163	Republic of Moldova	71.2	75.5	66.6	+17.2
164	Indonesia	71.1	73.3	69.0	+30.9
165	Dominica	71.1	74.5	68.2	+26.6
166	Cambodia	70.7	73.2	68.0	+31.8
167	Solomon Islands	70.5	72.0	69.2	+29.1
168	Nepal	70.4	71.8	68.8	+32.8
169	Guyana	70.2	73.9	66.5	+21.0
170	Turkmenistan	70.1	72.8	66.9	+22.0
171	Greenland	70.1	72.4	68.1	+30.6
172	Niue	70.0	72.7	67.4	+15.4
173	Philippines	69.8	72.8	66.9	+16.3
174	Sao Tome and Principe	69.7	73.7	66.2	+30.6
175	Libya	69.3	70.4	68.3	+36.2
176	Yemen	69.3	71.4	67.2	+40.4
177	Palau	69.3	71.8	67.2	+16.6
178	Botswana	69.2	71.7	66.7	+23.0
179	Lao People's Democratic Republic	69.0	71.3	66.8	+30.0
180	Senegal	68.7	70.8	66.8	+32.2
181	Eritrea	68.6	70.7	66.5	+35.3
182	Bolivia (Plurinational State of)	68.6	71.1	66.1	+27.9
183	Mauritania	68.5	70.5	66.5	+30.1
184	Gabon	68.3	71.1	65.9	+29.1
185	Uganda	68.3	71.1	65.3	+28.5
186	Rwanda	67.8	69.9	65.5	+24.6
187	Timor-Leste	67.7	69.4	66.1	+38.5
188	Pakistan	67.6	70.2	65.3	+33.4
189	Namibia	67.4	71.3	63.3	+25.4
190	Malawi	67.4	70.6	64.1	+34.7
191	Fiji	67.3	69.4	65.3	+15.6
192	Ethiopia	67.3	70.7	64.1	+31.8
193	Micronesia (Fed. States of)	67.2	71.1	63.5	+18.8
194	Tuvalu	67.1	70.7	63.8	+27.1
195	United Republic of Tanzania	67.0	69.8	64.2	+26.0
196	Marshall Islands	66.9	69.3	64.9	+14.3
197	Myanmar	66.9	70.2	63.8	+31.2
198	Comoros	66.8	68.9	64.8	+29.4
199	Kiribati	66.5	68.2	64.6	+20.8
200	Zambia	66.3	68.7	63.9	+19.5
201	Sudan	66.3	69.6	63.3	+20.5
202	South Africa	66.1	69.6	62.6	+23.0
203	Papua New Guinea	66.1	69.1	63.7	+26.8
204	Afghanistan	66.0	67.5	64.5	+37.9
205	Djibouti	66.0	68.5	63.5	+25.3
206	Gambia	65.9	67.5	64.2	+34.7
207	Congo	65.8	67.5	64.1	+26.2
208	Ghana	65.5	67.9	63.1	+22.4
209	State of Palestine	65.2	71.5	59.7	+19.4
210	Haiti	64.9	68.3	61.7	+27.7
211	Angola	64.6	67.1	62.1	+28.7
212	Eswatini	64.1	67.0	61.2	+20.7
213	Guinea-Bissau	64.1	66.4	61.7	+28.3
214	Equatorial Guinea	63.7	65.7	62.0	+23.6
215	Cameroon	63.7	65.9	61.5	+30.6
216	Burundi	63.7	65.7	61.6	+22.7
217	Kenya	63.6	65.9	61.5	+26.8
218	Madagascar	63.6	65.4	61.9	+24.0
219	Mozambique	63.6	66.5	60.3	+26.3
220	Zimbabwe	62.8	65.0	60.2	+13.4
221	Togo	62.7	62.9	62.5	+20.8
222	Liberia	62.2	63.4	60.9	+24.2
223	Nauru	62.1	64.0	60.3	+5.5
224	Côte d'Ivoire	61.9	64.1	60.0	+31.1
225	Democratic Republic of the Congo	61.9	64.0	59.8	+23.7
226	Sierra Leone	61.8	63.5	60.1	+32.8
227	Niger	61.2	62.1	60.3	+25.3
228	Burkina Faso	61.1	63.2	58.9	+28.1
229	Benin	60.8	62.2	59.3	+25.4
230	Guinea	60.7	61.9	59.5	+25.2
231	Mali	60.4	61.9	59.0	+31.7
232	Somalia	58.8	61.4	56.3	+17.4
233	South Sudan	57.6	60.6	54.6	+27.4
234	Central African Republic	57.4	59.3	55.3	+22.0
235	Lesotho	57.4	60.0	54.6	+12.7
236	Chad	55.1	57.0	53.2	+19.8
237	Nigeria	54.5	54.7	54.2	+18.9

Questions this page answers

What is life expectancy at birth?: The average number of years a newborn would live if the death rates of a given year applied for their whole life. It is a summary of that year's mortality, not a prediction for an individual.
Which country has the highest life expectancy?: In 2023, Monaco at 86.4 years. The ranking changes by a few tenths of a year between neighbouring countries, so small differences are not meaningful.
Why is life expectancy different for women and men?: Men die earlier on average in nearly every country, mostly from higher rates of injury and tobacco-related illness in adulthood. The gap is published separately in every life table and we show both figures.

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Data year: 2023