Over the past 160 years, life expectancy (from birth) in the United States has risen from 39.4 years in 1860, to 78.9 years in 2020. One of the major reasons for the overall increase of life expectancy in the last two centuries is the fact that the infant and child mortality rates have decreased by so much during this time. Medical advancements, fewer wars and improved living standards also mean that people are living longer than they did in previous centuries.

Despite this overall increase, the life expectancy dropped three times since 1860; from 1865 to 1870 during the American Civil War, from 1915 to 1920 during the First World War and following Spanish Flu epidemic, and it has dropped again between 2015 and now. The reason for the most recent drop in life expectancy is not a result of any specific event, but has been attributed to negative societal trends, such as unbalanced diets and sedentary lifestyles, high medical costs, and increasing rates of suicide and drug use.

A global phenomenon, known as the demographic transition, has seen life expectancy from birth increase rapidly over the past two centuries. In pre-industrial societies, the average life expectancy was around 24 years, and it is believed that this was the case throughout most of history, and in all regions. The demographic transition then began in the industrial societies of Europe, North America, and the West Pacific around the turn of the 19th century, and life expectancy rose accordingly. Latin America was the next region to follow, before Africa and most Asian populations saw their life expectancy rise throughout the 20th century.

World life expectancy for 2025 is 73.49, a 0.23% increase from 2024.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>World life expectancy for 2024 was <strong>73.33</strong>, a <strong>0% increase</strong> from 2023.</li>
<li>World life expectancy for 2023 was <strong>73.33</strong>, a <strong>0.49% increase</strong> from 2022.</li>
<li>World life expectancy for 2022 was <strong>72.97</strong>, a <strong>2.46% increase</strong> from 2021.</li>
</ul>Life expectancy at birth indicates the number of years a newborn infant would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the same throughout its life.

U.S. life expectancy for 2025 is 79.40, a 0.18% increase from 2024.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>U.S. life expectancy for 2024 was <strong>79.25</strong>, a <strong>1.11% increase</strong> from 2023.</li>
<li>U.S. life expectancy for 2023 was <strong>78.39</strong>, a <strong>1.23% increase</strong> from 2022.</li>
<li>U.S. life expectancy for 2022 was <strong>77.43</strong>, a <strong>1.45% increase</strong> from 2021.</li>
</ul>Life expectancy at birth indicates the number of years a newborn infant would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the same throughout its life.

This dataset of U.S. mortality trends since 1900 highlights the differences in age-adjusted death rates and life expectancy at birth by race and sex. Age-adjusted death rates (deaths per 100,000) after 1998 are calculated based on the 2000 U.S. standard population. Populations used for computing death rates for 2011–2017 are postcensal estimates based on the 2010 census, estimated as of July 1, 2010. Rates for census years are based on populations enumerated in the corresponding censuses. Rates for noncensus years between 2000 and 2010 are revised using updated intercensal population estimates and may differ from rates previously published. Data on age-adjusted death rates prior to 1999 are taken from historical data (see References below). Life expectancy data are available up to 2017. Due to changes in categories of race used in publications, data are not available for the black population consistently before 1968, and not at all before 1960. More information on historical data on age-adjusted death rates is available at https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/mortality/hist293.htm. SOURCES CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System, historical data, 1900-1998 (see https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/mortality_historical_data.htm); CDC/NCHS, National Vital Statistics System, mortality data (see http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/deaths.htm); and CDC WONDER (see http://wonder.cdc.gov). REFERENCES National Center for Health Statistics, Data Warehouse. Comparability of cause-of-death between ICD revisions. 2008. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/mortality/comparability_icd.htm. National Center for Health Statistics. Vital statistics data available. Mortality multiple cause files. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data_access/vitalstatsonline.htm. Kochanek KD, Murphy SL, Xu JQ, Arias E. Deaths: Final data for 2017. National Vital Statistics Reports; vol 68 no 9. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2019. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr68/nvsr68_09-508.pdf. Arias E, Xu JQ. United States life tables, 2017. National Vital Statistics Reports; vol 68 no 7. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2019. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr68/nvsr68_07-508.pdf. National Center for Health Statistics. Historical Data, 1900-1998. 2009. Available from: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/mortality_historical_data.htm.

Global life expectancy at birth has risen significantly since the mid-1900s, from roughly 46 years in 1950 to 73.2 years in 2023. Post-COVID-19 projections There was a drop of 1.7 years during the COVID-19 pandemic, between 2019 and 2021, however, figures resumed upon their previous trajectory the following year due to the implementation of vaccination campaigns and the lower severity of later strains of the virus. By the end of the century it is believed that global life expectancy from birth will reach 82 years, although growth will slow in the coming decades as many of the more-populous Asian countries reach demographic maturity. However, there is still expected to be a wide gap between various regions at the end of the 2100s, with the Europe and North America expected to have life expectancies around 90 years, whereas Sub-Saharan Africa is predicted to be in the low-70s. The Great Leap Forward While a decrease of one year during the COVID-19 pandemic may appear insignificant, this is the largest decline in life expectancy since the "Great Leap Forward" in China in 1958, which caused global life expectancy to fall by almost four years between by 1960. The "Great Leap Forward" was a series of modernizing reforms, which sought to rapidly transition China's agrarian economy into an industrial economy, but mismanagement led to tens of millions of deaths through famine and disease.

Between 1900 and 1950, Egypt’s life expectancy saw little change, hovering around 33 years, with the only decrease coming in the 1910s during the Spanish Flu epidemic and the Second World War. However, following the removal of the monarchy and establishment of the Egyptian republic in the 1952 Revolution, life expectancy saw a several decade rise, largely due to a significant expansion of the economy, health services, and other forms of social welfare; this increase then slowed between 1960 and 1975 as the economic growth in the country slowed, but it then increased to 68 years at the turn of the millennium. Since 2000, this growth has slowed, as a mixture of high population growth, high unemployment, and significant civil unrest have hit the country in the last two decades, although it has still reached 72 years in 2020, which is just one year below the global life expectancy.

China life expectancy for 2025 is 77.81, a 0.22% increase from 2024.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>China life expectancy for 2024 was <strong>77.64</strong>, a <strong>0.22% increase</strong> from 2023.</li>
<li>China life expectancy for 2023 was <strong>77.47</strong>, a <strong>0.22% increase</strong> from 2022.</li>
<li>China life expectancy for 2022 was <strong>77.30</strong>, a <strong>0.22% increase</strong> from 2021.</li>
</ul>Life expectancy at birth indicates the number of years a newborn infant would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the same throughout its life.

Thailand life expectancy for 2025 is 78.10, a 0.23% increase from 2024.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>Thailand life expectancy for 2024 was <strong>77.92</strong>, a <strong>1.97% increase</strong> from 2023.</li>
<li>Thailand life expectancy for 2023 was <strong>76.41</strong>, a <strong>1.49% increase</strong> from 2022.</li>
<li>Thailand life expectancy for 2022 was <strong>75.29</strong>, a <strong>2.98% decline</strong> from 2021.</li>
</ul>Life expectancy at birth indicates the number of years a newborn infant would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the same throughout its life.

Vietnam life expectancy for 2025 is 76.04, a 0.18% increase from 2024.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>Vietnam life expectancy for 2024 was <strong>75.91</strong>, a <strong>0.18% increase</strong> from 2023.</li>
<li>Vietnam life expectancy for 2023 was <strong>75.77</strong>, a <strong>0.13% increase</strong> from 2022.</li>
<li>Vietnam life expectancy for 2022 was <strong>75.67</strong>, a <strong>0.13% increase</strong> from 2021.</li>
</ul>Life expectancy at birth indicates the number of years a newborn infant would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the same throughout its life.

Throughout most of history, average life expectancy from birth was fairly consistent across the globe, at around 24 years. A major contributor to this was high rates of infant and child mortality; those who survived into adulthood could expect to live to their 50s or 60s, yet pandemics, food instability, and conflict did cause regular spikes in mortality across the entire population. Gradually, from the 16th to 19th centuries, there was some growth in more developed societies, due to improvements in agriculture, infrastructure, and medical knowledge. However, the most significant change came with the introduction of vaccination and other medical advances in the 1800s, which saw a sharp decline in child mortality and the onset of the demographic transition. This phenomenon began in more developed countries in the 1800s, before spreading to Latin America, Asia, and (later) Africa in the 1900s. As the majority of the world's population lives in countries considered to be "less developed", this figure is much closer to the global average. However, today, there is a considerable difference in life expectancies across these countries, ranging from 84.7 years in Japan to 53 years in the Central African Republic.

Life expectancy in China was just 32 in the year 1850, and over the course of the next 170 years, it is expected to more than double to 76.6 years in 2020. Between 1850 and 1950, finding reliable data proved difficult for anthropologists, however some events, such as the Taiping Rebellion and Dungan Revolt in the nineteenth century did reduce life expectancy by a few years, and also the Chinese Civil War and Second World War in the first half of the twentieth century. In the second half of the 1900s, Chinese life expectancy increased greatly, as the country became more industrialized and the standard of living increased.

Greece life expectancy for 2025 is 83.10, a 0.18% increase from 2024.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>Greece life expectancy for 2024 was <strong>82.95</strong>, a <strong>1.74% increase</strong> from 2023.</li>
<li>Greece life expectancy for 2023 was <strong>81.54</strong>, a <strong>0.93% increase</strong> from 2022.</li>
<li>Greece life expectancy for 2022 was <strong>80.79</strong>, a <strong>0.88% increase</strong> from 2021.</li>
</ul>Life expectancy at birth indicates the number of years a newborn infant would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the same throughout its life.

Life expectancy in the United Kingdom was below 39 years in the year 1765, and over the course of the next two and a half centuries, it is expected to have increased by more than double, to 81.1 by the year 2020. Although life expectancy has generally increased throughout the UK's history, there were several times where the rate deviated from its previous trajectory. These changes were the result of smallpox epidemics in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, new sanitary and medical advancements throughout time (such as compulsory vaccination), and the First world War and Spanish Flu epidemic in the 1910s.

This table presents a wide variety of historical data in the field of health, lifestyle and health care. Figures on births and mortality, causes of death and the occurrence of certain infectious diseases are available from 1900, other series from later dates. In addition to self-perceived health, the table contains figures on infectious diseases, hospitalisations per diagnosis, life expectancy, lifestyle factors such as smoking, alcohol consumption and obesity, and causes of death. The table also gives information on several aspects of health care, such as the number of practising professionals, the number of available hospital beds, nursing day averages and the expenditures on care. Many subjects are also covered in more detail by data in other tables, although sometimes with a shorter history. Data on notifiable infectious diseases and HIV/AIDS are not included in other tables. Data available from: 1900 Status of the figures: 2024: The available figures are definite. 2023: Most available figures are definite. Figures are provisional for: - occurrence of infectious diseases; - expenditures on health and welfare; - perinatal and infant mortality. 2022: Most available figures are definite. Figures are provisional for: - occurrence of infectious diseases; - diagnoses at hospital admissions; - number of hospital discharges and length of stay; - number of hospital beds; - health professions; - expenditures on health and welfare. 2021: Most available figures are definite. Figures are provisional for: - occurrence of infectious diseases; - expenditures on health and welfare. 2020 and earlier: Most available figures are definite. Due to 'dynamic' registrations, figures for notifiable infectious diseases, HIV, AIDS remain provisional. Changes as of 18 december 2024: - Due to a revision of the statistics Health and welfare expenditure 2021, figures for expenditure on health and welfare have been replaced from 2021 onwards. - Revised figures on the volume index of healthcare costs are not yet available, these figures have been deleted from 2021 onwards. The most recent available figures have been added for: - live born children, deaths; - occurrence of infectious diseases; - number of hospital beds; - expenditures on health and welfare; - perinatal and infant mortality; - healthy life expectancy; - causes of death. When will new figures be published? July 2025.

Life expectancy in Afghanistan remained below thirty in the nineteenth century, and it was not until the mid-1900s that life expectancy increased at a significantly higher rate, and by 2020, Afghanistan's life expectancy is expected to be just over 64 years. A noticeable drop in life expectancy appeared between 1915 and 1920, as the Spanish Flu epidemic that swept the globe impacted the population of Afghanistan severely. (A second drop can be observed in the early 1950s, however this is due to contrasting sources, as more recent data from the UN becomes available). Despite continuous war in the country since the late 1970s, medical advancements have brought Afghanistan's life expectancy closer to the global average in recent decades.

Historical chart and dataset showing Nigeria life expectancy by year from 1950 to 2025.

Malaysia life expectancy for 2025 is 76.93, a 0.18% increase from 2024.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>Malaysia life expectancy for 2024 was <strong>76.79</strong>, a <strong>0.18% increase</strong> from 2023.</li>
<li>Malaysia life expectancy for 2023 was <strong>76.66</strong>, a <strong>1.61% increase</strong> from 2022.</li>
<li>Malaysia life expectancy for 2022 was <strong>75.44</strong>, a <strong>2.07% increase</strong> from 2021.</li>
</ul>Life expectancy at birth indicates the number of years a newborn infant would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the same throughout its life.

Life expectancy at birth was approximately 35 years in Bosnia and Herzegovina at the beginning of the twentieth century. It remained around this level until the First World War and Spanish Flu Epidemic caused it to drop to 32 in the 1910s. Following this, life expectancy increased to over 45 years by 1940, however it then dropped by almost twenty years as a result of the Second World War; this reduction was not only because of the conflict, but also due to a series of ethnically motivated genocides in the Balkans. Following the war, life expectancy continued along its previous trajectory, reaching almost 72 years in 1990. The outbreak of the Bosnian War and the instability caused by Yugoslavia's collapse saw life expectancy drop slightly in the early 1990s, before it then rose again at the end of the century. Today, life expectancy from birth in Bosnia and Herzegovina is over 77 years.

This table shows the wide variety of long-term series in the field of health, lifestyle and healthcare. Figures on births and deaths, some causes of death and the occurrence of certain infectious diseases are available from 1900. Other series start at a later date. In addition to perceived health, the table includes figures on infectious diseases, hospital admissions by diagnosis, life expectancy, lifestyle factors such as smoking, alcohol and overweight, and causes of death. Various aspects of health care such as the number of healthcare professionals, the number of available hospital beds, the average length of stay and expenditure on care are also included in the table. Many topics are also listed in more detail in other StatLine tables, but sometimes with a shorter duration. Data on notifiable infectious diseases and AIDS/HIV are not included in other tables. Data available from: 1900 Status of the figures: Most figures are final. The most recently added year is provisional for: - diagnoses at hospital admission; - quantitative data from hospitals - healthcare professions; - causes of death. For expenditure on care, the figures for 2022 are provisional; the figures for 2020 and 2021 are more provisional; the other figures are final. All years are provisional for: notifiable infectious diseases, HIV, AIDS. Changes as of July 7, 2023: - Supplement with the most recent figures available. Changes as of 14 July 2022: - Replacement of the series of volume indices for healthcare expenditure with reference year 2010 for a new series with reference year 2015. When will new figures be released? The most recent figures available at that time will be published in December 2023.