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.
Over the past 75 years, women have generally had a higher life expectancy than men by around 4-6 years. Reasons for this difference include higher susceptibility to childhood diseases among males; higher rates of accidental deaths, conflict-related deaths, and suicide among adult men; and higher prevalence of unhealthy lifestyle habits and chronic illnesses, as well as higher susceptibility to chronic diseases among men. Therefore, men not only have lower life expectancy than women overall, but also throughout each stage of life. Throughout the given period, there were notable dips in life expectancy for both sexes, including a roughly four year drop in 1960 due to China's so-called Great Leap Forward, and a 1.8 year drop due to the Covid-19 pandemic in 2021. Across the world, differences in life expectancy can vary between the sexes by large margins. In countries such as the Nordics, for example, the difference is low due to high-quality healthcare systems and access, as well as high quality diets and lifestyles. In Eastern Europe, however, the difference is over 10 years in Russia and Ukraine due to the war, although the differences were already very pronounced in this region before 2022, in large part driven by unhealthier lifestyles among men.
The significant increase in life expectancy over the past 75 years has largely been driven by reductions in infant and child mortality, and has seen life expectancy from birth increase by 27 years between 1950 and 2024. However, this is not the only driver of increased life expectancy, as humanity has also got much better at prolonging life for adults. In 1950, 65-year-olds could expect to live for another 11 years on average, while this has risen to almost 18 years in 2024. The notable dips in life expectancy are due to China's Great Leap Forward around 1960, famine and conflict in Asia (especially Bangladesh) around 1970, and the COVID-19 pandemic in the early 2020s.
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Australia Life Expectancy at Birth data was reported at 93.000 Year in 2100. This records an increase from the previous number of 92.900 Year for 2099. Australia Life Expectancy at Birth data is updated yearly, averaging 86.800 Year from Jun 1986 (Median) to 2100, with 115 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 93.000 Year in 2100 and a record low of 75.600 Year in 1986. Australia Life Expectancy at Birth data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by U.S. Census Bureau. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.US Census Bureau: Demographic Projection.
In 2023, the average life expectancy at birth for men and women in South Korea was estimated to stand at 81.2 years and 87.2 years, respectively. Life expectancy at birth was particular low for men at the start of the 1950s due to the Korean War (1950-1953), and lagged 10 to 15 years behind women for decades. While women still have a longer life expectancy, the gap has been increasingly getting smaller, down to a difference of around six years in the 2020s. By the year 2100, it is estimated that life expectancy at birth for Korean women will have risen to 96 years, while their male counterparts are expected to reach 90.2 years old.
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<li>Japan life expectancy for 2024 was <strong>85.15</strong>, a <strong>0.14% increase</strong> from 2023.</li>
<li>Japan life expectancy for 2023 was <strong>85.03</strong>, a <strong>0.14% increase</strong> from 2022.</li>
<li>Japan life expectancy for 2022 was <strong>84.91</strong>, a <strong>0.14% 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.
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Albania Life Expectancy at Birth data was reported at 91.200 Year in 2100. This records an increase from the previous number of 91.100 Year for 2099. Albania Life Expectancy at Birth data is updated yearly, averaging 83.400 Year from Jun 1989 (Median) to 2100, with 112 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 91.200 Year in 2100 and a record low of 70.200 Year in 1994. Albania Life Expectancy at Birth data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by U.S. Census Bureau. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Albania – Table AL.US Census Bureau: Demographic Projection.
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<li>Poland life expectancy for 2024 was <strong>79.43</strong>, a <strong>0.21% increase</strong> from 2023.</li>
<li>Poland life expectancy for 2023 was <strong>79.27</strong>, a <strong>0.2% increase</strong> from 2022.</li>
<li>Poland life expectancy for 2022 was <strong>79.11</strong>, a <strong>0.21% 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.
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World Population Data from the United Nations (UN), United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs Population Division World Population Prospects 2022
Notes
File (CSV, 6 KB)
Location notes.
**Demographic Indicators ** Indicator reference (CSV, 4 KB) 1950-2100, medium (ZIP, 7.77 MB) 2022-2100, other scenarios (ZIP, 34.76 MB) Demographic Indicators:
Total Population, as of 1 January (thousands)
Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)
Male Population, as of 1 July (thousands)
Female Population, as of 1 July (thousands)
Population Density, as of 1 July (persons per square km)
Population Sex Ratio, as of 1 July (males per 100 females)
Median Age, as of 1 July (years)
Natural Change, Births minus Deaths (thousands)
Rate of Natural Change (per 1,000 population)
Population Change (thousands)
Population Growth Rate (percentage)
Population Annual Doubling Time (years)
Births (thousands)
Births by women aged 15 to 19 (thousands)
Crude Birth Rate (births per 1,000 population)
Total Fertility Rate (live births per woman)
Net Reproduction Rate (surviving daughters per woman)
Mean Age Childbearing (years)
Sex Ratio at Birth (males per 100 female births)
Total Deaths (thousands)
Male Deaths (thousands)
Female Deaths (thousands)
Crude Death Rate (deaths per 1,000 population)
Life Expectancy at Birth, both sexes (years)
Male Life Expectancy at Birth (years)
Female Life Expectancy at Birth (years)
Life Expectancy at Age 15, both sexes (years)
Male Life Expectancy at Age 15 (years)
Female Life Expectancy at Age 15 (years)
Life Expectancy at Age 65, both sexes (years)
Male Life Expectancy at Age 65 (years)
Female Life Expectancy at Age 65 (years)
Life Expectancy at Age 80, both sexes (years)
Male Life Expectancy at Age 80 (years)
Female Life Expectancy at Age 80 (years)
Infant Deaths, under age 1 (thousands)
Infant Mortality Rate (infant deaths per 1,000 live births)
Live births Surviving to Age 1 (thousands)
Deaths under age 5 (thousands)
Under-five Mortality Rate (deaths under age 5 per 1,000 live births)
Mortality before Age 40, both sexes (deaths under age 40 per 1,000 live births)
Male mortality before Age 40 (deaths under age 40 per 1,000 male live births)
Female mortality before Age 40 (deaths under age 40 per 1,000 female live births)
Mortality before Age 60, both sexes (deaths under age 60 per 1,000 live births)
Male mortality before Age 60 (deaths under age 60 per 1,000 male live births)
Female mortality before Age 60 (deaths under age 60 per 1,000 female live births)
Mortality between Age 15 and 50, both sexes (deaths under age 50 per 1,000 alive at age 15)
Male mortality between Age 15 and 50 (deaths under age 50 per 1,000 males alive at age 15)
Female mortality between Age 15 and 50 (deaths under age 50 per 1,000 females alive at age 15)
Mortality between Age 15 and 60, both sexes (deaths under age 60 per 1,000 alive at age 15)
Male mortality between Age 15 and 60 (deaths under age 60 per 1,000 males alive at age 15)
Female mortality between Age 15 and 60 (deaths under age 60 per 1,000 females alive at age 15)
Net Number of Migrants (thousands)
Net Migration Rate (per 1,000 population)
Fertility
1950-2100, single age (ZIP, 78.01 MB)
1950-2100, 5-year age groups (ZIP, 22.38 MB)
Age-specific Fertility Rate (ASFR)
Percent Age-specific Fertility Rate (PASFR)
Births (thousands)
**Life Tables ** 1950-2021, medium (ZIP, 68.72 MB) 2022-2100, medium (ZIP, 74.62 MB) Abridged life tables up to age 100 by sex and both sexes combined providing a set of values showing the mortality experience of a hypothetical group of infants born at the same time and subject throughout their lifetime to the specific mortality rates of a given year, from 1950 to 2100. Only medium is available.
mx: Central death rate, nmx, for the age interval (x, x+n)
qx: Probability of dying (nqx), for an individual between age x and x+n
px: Probability of surviving, (npx), for an individual of age x to age x+n
lx: Number of survivors, (lx), at age (x) for 100000 births
dx: Number of deaths, (ndx), between ages x and x+n
Lx: Number of person-years lived, (nLx), between ages x and x+n
Sx: Survival ratio (nSx) corresponding to proportion of the life table population in age group (x, x+n) who are alive n year later
Tx: Person-years lived, (Tx), above age x
ex: Expectation of life (ex) at age x, i.e., average number of years lived subsequent to age x by those reaching age x
ax: Average number of years lived (nax) between ages x and x+n by those dying in the interval
Life Tables 1950-2021 (ZIP, 94.76 MB) 2022-2100 (ZIP, 101.66 MB) Single age life tables up to age 10...
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Belgium BE: Life Expectancy at Birth data was reported at 92.500 Year in 2100. This stayed constant from the previous number of 92.500 Year for 2099. Belgium BE: Life Expectancy at Birth data is updated yearly, averaging 86.200 Year from Jun 1991 (Median) to 2100, with 110 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 92.500 Year in 2100 and a record low of 76.100 Year in 1991. Belgium BE: Life Expectancy at Birth data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by U.S. Census Bureau. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Belgium – Table BE.US Census Bureau: Demographic Projection.
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Historical chart and dataset showing U.K. life expectancy by year from 1950 to 2025.
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Life table data for "Bounce backs amid continued losses: Life expectancy changes since COVID-19"
cc-by Jonas Schöley, José Manuel Aburto, Ilya Kashnitsky, Maxi S. Kniffka, Luyin Zhang, Hannaliis Jaadla, Jennifer B. Dowd, and Ridhi Kashyap. "Bounce backs amid continued losses: Life expectancy changes since COVID-19".
These are CSV files of life tables over the years 2015 through 2021 across 29 countries analyzed in the paper "Bounce backs amid continued losses: Life expectancy changes since COVID-19".
40-lifetables.csv
Life table statistics 2015 through 2021 by sex and region with uncertainty quantiles based on Poisson replication of death counts.
30-lt_input.csv
Life table input data.
Deaths
Population
COVID deaths
External life expectancy estimates
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<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>
<li>New Zealand life expectancy for 2024 was <strong>82.95</strong>, a <strong>0.07% decline</strong> from 2023.</li>
<li>New Zealand life expectancy for 2023 was <strong>83.00</strong>, a <strong>1.28% increase</strong> from 2022.</li>
<li>New Zealand life expectancy for 2022 was <strong>81.96</strong>, a <strong>0.3% 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.
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Norway SSB Projection: Vital Statistics: Life Expectancy data was reported at 92.000 Year in 2100. This records an increase from the previous number of 91.900 Year for 2099. Norway SSB Projection: Vital Statistics: Life Expectancy data is updated yearly, averaging 87.950 Year from Dec 2015 (Median) to 2100, with 86 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 92.000 Year in 2100 and a record low of 82.000 Year in 2015. Norway SSB Projection: Vital Statistics: Life Expectancy data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Statistics Norway. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Norway – Table NO.G005: Vital Statistics: Projection: Statistics Norway.
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Data calculated for State of the Tropics 2014 report from original source: World Population Prospects: the 2012 revision. File MORT/7-1: Life expectancy at birth (both sexes combined) by major area, region and country, 1950-2100 (years)
This statistic shows the median age of the population in Switzerland from 1950 to 2100. The median age of a population is an index that divides the population into two equal groups: half of the population is older than the median age and the other half younger.In 2020, the median age of Switzerland's population was 41.7 years. See Switzerland's population figures for comparison.
The world's population first reached one billion people in 1803, and reach eight billion in 2023, and will peak at almost 11 billion by the end of the century. Although it took thousands of years to reach one billion people, it did so at the beginning of a phenomenon known as the demographic transition; from this point onwards, population growth has skyrocketed, and since the 1960s the population has increased by one billion people every 12 to 15 years. The demographic transition sees a sharp drop in mortality due to factors such as vaccination, sanitation, and improved food supply; the population boom that follows is due to increased survival rates among children and higher life expectancy among the general population; and fertility then drops in response to this population growth. Regional differences The demographic transition is a global phenomenon, but it has taken place at different times across the world. The industrialized countries of Europe and North America were the first to go through this process, followed by some states in the Western Pacific. Latin America's population then began growing at the turn of the 20th century, but the most significant period of global population growth occurred as Asia progressed in the late-1900s. As of the early 21st century, almost two thirds of the world's population live in Asia, although this is set to change significantly in the coming decades. Future growth The growth of Africa's population, particularly in Sub-Saharan Africa, will have the largest impact on global demographics in this century. From 2000 to 2100, it is expected that Africa's population will have increased by a factor of almost five. It overtook Europe in size in the late 1990s, and overtook the Americas a decade later. In contrast to Africa, Europe's population is now in decline, as birth rates are consistently below death rates in many countries, especially in the south and east, resulting in natural population decline. Similarly, the population of the Americas and Asia are expected to go into decline in the second half of this century, and only Oceania's population will still be growing alongside Africa. By 2100, the world's population will have over three billion more than today, with the vast majority of this concentrated in Africa. Demographers predict that climate change is exacerbating many of the challenges that currently hinder progress in Africa, such as political and food instability; if Africa's transition is prolonged, then it may result in further population growth that would place a strain on the region's resources, however, curbing this growth earlier would alleviate some of the pressure created by climate change.
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Austria AT: Life Expectancy at Birth data was reported at 92.400 Year in 2100. This records an increase from the previous number of 92.300 Year for 2099. Austria AT: Life Expectancy at Birth data is updated yearly, averaging 85.950 Year from Jun 1991 (Median) to 2100, with 110 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 92.400 Year in 2100 and a record low of 75.600 Year in 1991. Austria AT: Life Expectancy at Birth data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by U.S. Census Bureau. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Austria – Table AT.US Census Bureau: Demographic Projection.
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Armenia AM: Life Expectancy at Birth data was reported at 90.300 Year in 2100. This records an increase from the previous number of 90.200 Year for 2099. Armenia AM: Life Expectancy at Birth data is updated yearly, averaging 81.450 Year from Jun 1989 (Median) to 2100, with 112 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 90.300 Year in 2100 and a record low of 68.600 Year in 1993. Armenia AM: Life Expectancy at Birth data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by U.S. Census Bureau. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Armenia – Table AM.US Census Bureau: Demographic Projection.
The number of people aged 100 years or more (centenarians) worldwide is expected to increase significantly over the coming decades. While there were only 162,000 centenarians in 2000, this number is predicted to increase to over 17.9 million by 2100. As people on the planet live longer, global life expectancy increases.
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.