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.

The life expectancy for men aged 65 years in the U.S. has gradually increased since the 1960s. Now men in the United States aged 65 can expect to live 17 more years on average. Women aged 65 years can expect to live around 19.7 more years on average.

Life expectancy in the U.S.

As of 2021, the average life expectancy at birth in the United States was 76.33 years. Life expectancy in the U.S. had steadily increased for many years but has recently dropped slightly. Women consistently have a higher life expectancy than men but have also seen a slight decrease. As of 2019, a woman in the U.S. could be expected to live up to 79.3 years.

Leading causes of death

The leading causes of death in the United States include heart disease, cancer, unintentional injuries, chronic lower respiratory diseases and cerebrovascular diseases. However, heart disease and cancer account for around 38 percent of all deaths. Although heart disease and cancer are the leading causes of death for both men and women, there are slight variations in the leading causes of death. For example, unintentional injury and suicide account for a larger portion of deaths among men than they do among women.

This statistic shows the average life expectancy in North America for those born in 2022, by gender and region. In Canada, the average life expectancy was 80 years for males and 84 years for females.

Life expectancy in North America

Of those considered in this statistic, the life expectancy of female Canadian infants born in 2021 was the longest, at 84 years. Female infants born in America that year had a similarly high life expectancy of 81 years. Male infants, meanwhile, had lower life expectancies of 80 years (Canada) and 76 years (USA).

Compare this to the worldwide life expectancy for babies born in 2021: 75 years for women and 71 years for men. Of continents worldwide, North America ranks equal first in terms of life expectancy of (77 years for men and 81 years for women). Life expectancy is lowest in Africa at just 63 years and 66 years for males and females respectively. Japan is the country with the highest life expectancy worldwide for babies born in 2020.

Life expectancy is calculated according to current mortality rates of the population in question. Global variations in life expectancy are caused by differences in medical care, public health and diet, and reflect global inequalities in economic circumstances. Africa’s low life expectancy, for example, can be attributed in part to the AIDS epidemic. In 2019, around 72,000 people died of AIDS in South Africa, the largest amount worldwide. Nigeria, Tanzania and India were also high on the list of countries ranked by AIDS deaths that year. Likewise, Africa has by far the highest rate of mortality by communicable disease (i.e. AIDS, neglected tropics diseases, malaria and tuberculosis).

In 2021, a woman in the United States aged 65 years could expect to live another 19.7 years on average. This number decreased in the years 2020 and 2021, after reaching a high of 20.8 years in 2019. Nevertheless, the life expectancy of a woman aged 65 years in the United States is still higher than that of a man of that age. In 2021, a man aged 65 years could be expected to live another 17 years on average.

Why has the life expectancy in the U.S. declined? Overall, life expectancy in the United States has declined in recent years. In 2019, the life expectancy for U.S. women was 81.4 years, but by 2021 it had decreased to 79.3 years. Likewise, the life expectancy for men decreased from 76.3 years to 73.5 years in the same period. The biggest contributors to this decline in life expectancy are the COVID-19 pandemic and the opioid epidemic. Although deaths from the COVID-19 pandemic have decreased significantly since 2022, deaths from opioid overdose continue to increase, reaching all-time highs in 2021.

The leading causes of death among U.S. women The leading causes of death among women in the United States in 2020 were heart disease, cancer, and COVID-19. That year heart disease and cancer accounted for a combined 37 percent of all deaths among women, while around 10 percent of deaths were due to COVID-19. The overall leading causes of death in the United States generally reflect the leading causes among women with some slight variations. For example, Alzheimer’s disease is the fourth leading cause of death among women, but the seventh leading cause of death overall in the United States.

In 2022, the life expectancy of men at birth in the United States increased by 1.3 years (+1.77 percent) compared to 2021. In total, the life expectancy amounted to 74.8 years in 2022. This increase was preceded by a declining life expectancy.Life expectancy at birth refers to the number of years the average newborn is expected to live, providing that mortality patterns at the time of birth do not change thereafter.Find more statistics on other topics about the United States with key insights such as total fertility rate, infant mortality rate, and total life expectancy at birth.

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.

In 2023, the average life expectancy of the world was 70 years for men and 75 years for women. The lowest life expectancies were found in Africa, while Oceania and Europe had the highest.

What is life expectancy?

Life expectancy is defined as a statistical measure of how long a person may live, based on demographic factors such as gender, current age, and most importantly the year of their birth. The most commonly used measure of life expectancy is life expectancy at birth or at age zero. The calculation is based on the assumption that mortality rates at each age were to remain constant in the future.

Life expectancy has changed drastically over time, especially during the past 200 years. In the early 20th century, the average life expectancy at birth in the developed world stood at 31 years. It has grown to an average of 70 and 75 years for males and females respectively, and is expected to keep on growing with advances in medical treatment and living standard continuing.

Highest and lowest life expectancy worldwide

Life expectancy still varies greatly between different regions and countries of the world. The biggest impact on life expectancy is the quality of public health, medical care, and diet. As of 2021, the countries with the highest life expectancy were Japan, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and South Korea, all at 84 years. Most of the countries with the lowest life expectancy are mostly African countries. The ranking was led by the Chad, Nigeria, and Lesotho with 53 years.

Global life expactancy at birth has risen significantly since the mid-1900s, from roughly 46 years in 1950 to 73.5 years in 2025. 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.

As of 2023, the countries with the highest life expectancy included Switzerland, Japan, and Spain. As of that time, a new-born child in Switzerland could expect to live an average of 84.2 years. Around the world, females consistently have a higher average life expectancy than males, with females in Europe expected to live an average of six years longer than males on this continent. Increases in life expectancy The overall average life expectancy in OECD countries increased by 11.3 years from 1970 to 2019. The countries that saw the largest increases included Turkey, India, and South Korea. The life expectancy at birth in Turkey increased an astonishing 24.4 years over this period. The countries with the lowest life expectancy worldwide as of 2022 were Chad, Lesotho, and Nigeria, where a newborn could be expected to live an average of 53 years. Life expectancy in the U.S. The life expectancy in the United States was 77.43 years as of 2022. Shockingly, the life expectancy in the United States has decreased in recent years, while it continues to increase in other similarly developed countries. The COVID-19 pandemic and increasing rates of suicide and drug overdose deaths from the opioid epidemic have been cited as reasons for this decrease.

The life expectancy of women at birth in the United States saw no significant changes in 2022 in comparison to the previous year 2021 and remained at around 80.2 years. Life expectancy at birth refers to the number of years that the average newborn can expect to live, providing that mortality patterns at the time of their birth do not change thereafter.Find more statistics on other topics about the United States with key insights such as infant mortality rate, total life expectancy at birth, and total fertility rate.

In 2022, the average life expectancy of women in Japan was approximately 87.1 years, whereas the life expectancy of men reached around 81.1 years. The average life expectancy of both men and women in Japan indicated a decrease for two consecutive years. Aging workforce Japan has one of the highest proportions of senior citizens worldwide, with almost 30 percent of the country’s population aged 65 years and older. The growing average life expectancy and declining fertility rates led to this demographic shift. To secure the nation's workforce despite the aging population, the Japanese government amended the Act on Stabilization of Employment of Elderly Persons in 2021 and requested Japanese enterprises to raise the retirement age to 70 for employees who wish to continue working after turning 60 or 65. Causes of death The leading causes of death in Japan are malignant neoplasms, heart diseases, and cerebrovascular diseases. Lung cancer is the most mortal cancer site among Japanese men and women, but its mortality risk has declined from the 1990s onward. This development can be partially attributed to the downward trend in tobacco consumption. Since peaking in the 1970s, tobacco consumption in Japan has steadily declined, noticeable from the continuous decrease in the cigarette industry’s annual sales volume growth. Apart from a growing awareness regarding health risks, this downward movement can be explained by a tightening of prefectural no-smoking policies in the streets, many restaurants, and public places in general.

The total life expectancy at birth in the United States saw no significant changes in 2022 in comparison to the previous year 2021 and remained at around 77.43 years. Life expectancy at birth refers to the expected lifespan of the average newborn, providing that mortality patterns at the time of birth in the given region do not change thereafter.Find more statistics on other topics about the United States with key insights such as crude birth rate, life expectancy of women at birth, and life expectancy of men at birth.

This statistic depicts the average life expectancy at birth worldwide in 1990 and 2019, by gender. In 2019, women had an average life expectancy of 75.9 years at birth, while men were expected to live 70.8 years.

Monaco had the highest life expectancy among both men and women worldwide as of 2024. That year, life expectancy for men and women was 84 and 89 years, respectively. The East Asian countries and regions Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and Macao followed. Many of the countries on the list are struggling with aging populations and a declining workforce as more people enter retirement age compared to people entering employment.

On average, women live almost six years more than men in France. In 2023, female life expectancy at birth in France reached 85.7 years compared to 80 years for males. In 2021 life expectancy in France, regardless of gender, was of 82.32 years. Thus, France is one of the countries in the world with the highest life expectancy. Women outlive men According to the source there are differences in life expectancy between men and women in France. In 2004, female life expectancy in France was of 83.9, compared to 76.7 years for males. Since then, life expectancy for both genders has been evolving in a similar way. When life expectancy decreased slightly in 2015, it has affected both men and women. Similarly, when life expectancy increased. But one aspect remained the same: male life expectancy keeps being lower than female life expectancy. This difference has been seen not only in France. In Europe, females are expected to live longer than men in every region. While women in France have longer life expectancy, they are also expected to have a higher number of healthy life years. In 2013, a study from Eurostat showed that French women had a number of expected healthy years of 64.4, compared to 63 years for men. An aging population Like other Western countries, France has an aging population. French citizens aged 65 years and older are now more than French aged from 0 to 14 years old. The median age of the population in the country is increasing since the nineties, while the share of seniors reached almost 18 percent of the population in 2013.

For most of the world, throughout most of human history, the average life expectancy from birth was around 24. This figure fluctuated greatly depending on the time or region, and was higher than 24 in most individual years, but factors such as pandemics, famines, and conflicts caused regular spikes in mortality and reduced life expectancy. Child mortality The most significant difference between historical mortality rates and modern figures is that child and infant mortality was so high in pre-industrial times; before the introduction of vaccination, water treatment, and other medical knowledge or technologies, women would have around seven children throughout their lifetime, but around half of these would not make it to adulthood. Accurate, historical figures for infant mortality are difficult to ascertain, as it was so prevalent, it took place in the home, and was rarely recorded in censuses; however, figures from this source suggest that the rate was around 300 deaths per 1,000 live births in some years, meaning that almost one in three infants did not make it to their first birthday in certain periods. For those who survived to adolescence, they could expect to live into their forties or fifties on average. Modern figures It was not until the eradication of plague and improvements in housing and infrastructure in recent centuries where life expectancy began to rise in some parts of Europe, before industrialization and medical advances led to the onset of the demographic transition across the world. Today, global life expectancy from birth is roughly three times higher than in pre-industrial times, at almost 73 years. It is higher still in more demographically and economically developed countries; life expectancy is over 82 years in the three European countries shown, and over 84 in Japan. For the least developed countries, mostly found in Sub-Saharan Africa, life expectancy from birth can be as low as 53 years.

This statistic shows the average life expectancy in Europe for those born in 2024, by gender and region. The average life expectancy in Western Europe was 79 years for males and 84 years for females in 2024. Additional information on European life expectancy The difference in life expectancy seen between men and women across all European regions is in line with the global trends of women outliving men, on average. The average life expectancy at birth worldwide by income group shows that the gender life expectancy gap is not only a consistent trend across countries, but also income groups. Moreover, the higher life expectancy for those in high income groups may help to explain the lower average life expectancy for those born in Eastern Europe where average incomes are generally lower than other European regions. Although income and length of life are not directly correlated, higher income individuals are generally able to afford access to superior nutrition and healthcare as well as having leisure time for exercise. That said, current trends in the increases in life expectancy worldwide by country between 1970 and 2017 suggest economic growth will lead to larger increases in life expectancy. Those increases are less likely to occur to such a degree in the more developed regions of Europe where Italy, Spain, France, Switzerland, Iceland and Austria all rank in the top 20 countries with the highest life expectancy.

In the world's most populous country, life expectancy has been continuously rising over the last decades, benefitting greatly from China's economic ascendance. In 2022, average life expectancy at birth in China reached about 78.6 years. Life expectancy at birth Life expectancy at birth refers to the average number of years a group of people born in the same year would live, assuming constant mortality rates. San Marino and Monaco had the highest life expectancy at birth, while China had reached a life expectancy above global average. People who were born in San Marino or Monaco in 2023 had a life expectancy of approximately 87 years or 86 years on average respectively. Demographic development in China Whereas average life expectancy at birth has been growing steadily, birth rates in China have been experiencing a slowdown. In 2024, about 6.77 babies had been born per 1,000 women in China, the second lowest point in the recent decade. As a result of low fertility rates and the extended life expectancy in China, the share of elderly people had been rising rapidly. The number of Chinese population aged 60 and older had more than doubled over the past three decades and is projected to reach its peak at 504 million in 2050. People aged 60 and older have been estimated to account for approximately one fourth of China’s total population by 2030, indicating a sharp climb from just around 13 percent in 2010. In order to pinpoint this massive shift in the age pyramid of China, an important indicator for measuring the pressure of aging population on productive population may be consulted. The old-age dependency ratio in China was expected to reach 52.3 percent in 2050.

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.

In 2022 life expectancy for both males and females at birth fell when compared to 2021. Male life expectancy fell from 78.71 years to 78.57 years, and from 82.68 years to 82.57 years for women.