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.

In 2024, the average life expectancy in the world was 71 years for men and 76 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 standards 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 2022, the countries with the highest life expectancy were Japan, Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and Australia, all at 84–83 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 53–54 years.

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

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

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.

Introduction

Life Expectancy Statistics: Life expectancy is the average number of years a person is expected to live based on current mortality rates in a specific population.

It is influenced by healthcare quality, lifestyle choices, economic conditions, genetics, environmental factors, and social determinants like education and public health policies.

Typically measured as life expectancy at birth, it reflects the average lifespan of a newborn. However, it can also be assessed for older ages, such as 65, to predict additional years of life.

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.

Life expectancy at birth and at age 65, by sex, on a three-year average basis.

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).

India life expectancy for 2025 is 70.82, a 0.29% increase from 2024.

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

<li>India life expectancy for 2024 was <strong>70.62</strong>, a <strong>1.92% decline</strong> from 2023.</li>
<li>India life expectancy for 2023 was <strong>72.00</strong>, a <strong>0.43% increase</strong> from 2022.</li>
<li>India life expectancy for 2022 was <strong>71.70</strong>, a <strong>6.56% 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.

Japan life expectancy for 2025 is 85.27, a 0.14% increase from 2024.

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

<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.

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.

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.

Graph and download economic data for Life Expectancy at Birth, Total for the United States (SPDYNLE00INUSA) from 1960 to 2023 about life expectancy, life, birth, and USA.

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

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.

Myanmar life expectancy for 2025 is 68.14, a 0.26% increase from 2024.

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

<li>Myanmar life expectancy for 2024 was <strong>67.96</strong>, a <strong>1.6% increase</strong> from 2023.</li>
<li>Myanmar life expectancy for 2023 was <strong>66.89</strong>, a <strong>0.58% increase</strong> from 2022.</li>
<li>Myanmar life expectancy for 2022 was <strong>66.51</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.

Egypt life expectancy for 2025 is 72.85, a 0.21% increase from 2024.

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

<li>Egypt life expectancy for 2024 was <strong>72.69</strong>, a <strong>1.48% increase</strong> from 2023.</li>
<li>Egypt life expectancy for 2023 was <strong>71.63</strong>, a <strong>0.88% increase</strong> from 2022.</li>
<li>Egypt life expectancy for 2022 was <strong>71.01</strong>, a <strong>2.95% 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.

Philippines life expectancy for 2025 is 71.92, a 0.18% increase from 2024.

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

<li>Philippines life expectancy for 2024 was <strong>71.79</strong>, a <strong>2.8% increase</strong> from 2023.</li>
<li>Philippines life expectancy for 2023 was <strong>69.83</strong>, a <strong>0.52% increase</strong> from 2022.</li>
<li>Philippines life expectancy for 2022 was <strong>69.47</strong>, a <strong>4.19% 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.

Poland life expectancy for 2025 is 79.60, a 0.21% increase from 2024.

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

<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.