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.

In the United States in 2021, the death rate was highest among those aged 85 and over, with about 17,190.5 men and 14,914.5 women per 100,000 of the population passing away. For all ages, the death rate was at 1,118.2 per 100,000 of the population for males, and 970.8 per 100,000 of the population for women. The death rate Death rates generally are counted as the number of deaths per 1,000 or 100,000 of the population and include both deaths of natural and unnatural causes. The death rate in the United States had pretty much held steady since 1990 until it started to increase over the last decade, with the highest death rates recorded in recent years. While the birth rate in the United States has been decreasing, it is still currently higher than the death rate. Causes of death There are a myriad number of causes of death in the United States, but the most recent data shows the top three leading causes of death to be heart disease, cancers, and accidents. Heart disease was also the leading cause of death worldwide.

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

The life expectancy of men at birth in the United States saw no significant changes in 2023 in comparison to the previous year 2022 and remained at around 75.8 years. However, 2023 marked the second consecutive increase of the 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.

Number of deaths and mortality rates, by age group, sex, and place of residence, 1991 to most recent year.

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).

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

United States US: Mortality Rate: Adult: Male: per 1000 Male Adults data was reported at 133.993 Ratio in 2015. This records an increase from the previous number of 131.567 Ratio for 2014. United States US: Mortality Rate: Adult: Male: per 1000 Male Adults data is updated yearly, averaging 176.083 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2015, with 56 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 240.957 Ratio in 1968 and a record low of 131.037 Ratio in 2013. United States US: Mortality Rate: Adult: Male: per 1000 Male Adults data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.World Bank: Health Statistics. Adult mortality rate, male, is the probability of dying between the ages of 15 and 60--that is, the probability of a 15-year-old male dying before reaching age 60, if subject to age-specific mortality rates of the specified year between those ages.; ; (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision. (2) University of California, Berkeley, and Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research. The Human Mortality Database.; Weighted average;

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.

United States US: Suicide Mortality Rate: Male data was reported at 23.600 NA in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 23.000 NA for 2015. United States US: Suicide Mortality Rate: Male data is updated yearly, averaging 20.700 NA from Dec 2000 (Median) to 2016, with 5 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 23.600 NA in 2016 and a record low of 17.900 NA in 2000. United States US: Suicide Mortality Rate: Male data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s United States – Table US.World Bank.WDI: Health Statistics. Suicide mortality rate is the number of suicide deaths in a year per 100,000 population. Crude suicide rate (not age-adjusted).; ; World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory Data Repository (http://apps.who.int/ghodata/).; Weighted average;

Rank, number of deaths, percentage of deaths, and age-specific mortality rates for the leading causes of death, by age group and sex, 2000 to most recent year.

United States US: Mortality Rate: Under-5: Male: per 1000 Live Births data was reported at 7.200 Ratio in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 7.400 Ratio for 2015. United States US: Mortality Rate: Under-5: Male: per 1000 Live Births data is updated yearly, averaging 8.000 Ratio from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2017, with 5 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 12.500 Ratio in 1990 and a record low of 7.200 Ratio in 2017. United States US: Mortality Rate: Under-5: Male: per 1000 Live Births data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.World Bank: Health Statistics. Under-five mortality rate, male is the probability per 1,000 that a newborn male baby will die before reaching age five, if subject to male age-specific mortality rates of the specified year.; ; Estimates Developed by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNICEF, WHO, World Bank, UN DESA Population Division) at www.childmortality.org.; Weighted average; Given that data on the incidence and prevalence of diseases are frequently unavailable, mortality rates are often used to identify vulnerable populations. Moreover, they are among the indicators most frequently used to compare socioeconomic development across countries. Under-five mortality rates are higher for boys than for girls in countries in which parental gender preferences are insignificant. Under-five mortality captures the effect of gender discrimination better than infant mortality does, as malnutrition and medical interventions have more significant impacts to this age group. Where female under-five mortality is higher, girls are likely to have less access to resources than boys.

Annual data on death registrations by single year of age for the UK (1974 onwards) and England and Wales (1963 onwards).

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.

Mortality from prostate cancer (ICD-10 C61 equivalent to ICD-9 185). To reduce deaths from prostate cancer. Legacy unique identifier: P00624

Abstract

The Health Inequality Project uses big data to measure differences in life expectancy by income across areas and identify strategies to improve health outcomes for low-income Americans.

Section 7

This table reports life expectancy point estimates and standard errors for men and women at age 40 for each percentile of the national income distribution. Both race-adjusted and unadjusted estimates are reported.

Source

Section 13

This table reports life expectancy point estimates and standard errors for men and women at age 40 for each percentile of the national income distribution separately by year. Both race-adjusted and unadjusted estimates are reported.

Source

Section 6

This dataset was created on 2020-01-10 18:53:00.508 by merging multiple datasets together. The source datasets for this version were:

Commuting Zone Life Expectancy Estimates by year: CZ-level by-year life expectancy estimates for men and women, by income quartile

Commuting Zone Life Expectancy: Commuting zone (CZ)-level life expectancy estimates for men and women, by income quartile

Commuting Zone Life Expectancy Trends: CZ-level estimates of trends in life expectancy for men and women, by income quartile

Commuting Zone Characteristics: CZ-level characteristics

Commuting Zone Life Expectancy for larger populations: CZ-level life expectancy estimates for men and women, by income ventile

Section 15

This table reports life expectancy point estimates and standard errors for men and women at age 40 for each quartile of the national income distribution by state of residence and year. Both race-adjusted and unadjusted estimates are reported.

Source

Section 11

This table reports US mortality rates by gender, age, year and household income percentile. Household incomes are measured two years prior to the mortality rate for mortality rates at ages 40-63, and at age 61 for mortality rates at ages 64-76. The “lag” variable indicates the number of years between measurement of income and mortality.

Observations with 1 or 2 deaths have been masked: all mortality rates that reflect only 1 or 2 deaths have been recoded to reflect 3 deaths

Source

Section 3

This table reports coefficients and standard errors from regressions of life expectancy estimates for men and women at age 40 for each quartile of the national income distribution on calendar year by commuting zone of residence. Only the slope coefficient, representing the average increase or decrease in life expectancy per year, is reported. Trend estimates for both race-adjusted and unadjusted life expectancies are reported. Estimates are reported for the 100 largest CZs (populations greater than 590,000) only.

Source

Section 9

This table reports life expectancy estimates at age 40 for Males and Females for all countries. Source: World Health Organization, accessed at: http://apps.who.int/gho/athena/

Source

Section 10

This table reports life expectancy point estimates and standard errors for men and women at age 40 for each quartile of the national income distribution by county of residence. Both race-adjusted and unadjusted estimates are reported. Estimates are reported for counties with populations larger than 25,000 only

Source

Section 2

This table reports life expectancy point estimates and standard errors for men and women at age 40 for each quartile of the national income distribution by commuting zone of residence and year. Both race-adjusted and unadjusted estimates are reported. Estimates are reported for the 100 largest CZs (populations greater than 590,000) only.

Source

Section 8

This table reports US population and death counts by age, year, and sex from various sources. Counts labelled “dm1” are derived from the Social Security Administration Data Master 1 file. Counts labelled “irs” are derived from tax data. Counts labelled “cdc” are derived from NCHS life tables.

Source

Section 12

This table reports numerous county characteristics, compiled from various sources. These characteristics are described in the county life expectancy table.

Two variables constructed by the Cen

This table contains 2754 series, with data for years 2005/2007 - 2012/2014 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years). This table contains data described by the following dimensions (Not all combinations are available): Geography (153 items: Canada; Newfoundland and Labrador; Eastern Regional Integrated Health Authority, Newfoundland and Labrador; Central Regional Integrated Health Authority, Newfoundland and Labrador; ...); Age group (2 items: At birth; At age 65); Sex (3 items: Both sexes; Males; Females); Characteristics (3 items: Life expectancy; Low 95% confidence interval, life expectancy; High 95% confidence interval, life expectancy).

United States US: Survival To Age 65: Male: % of Cohort data was reported at 81.615 % in 2016. This records an increase from the previous number of 81.372 % for 2015. United States US: Survival To Age 65: Male: % of Cohort data is updated yearly, averaging 73.582 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2016, with 57 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 81.615 % in 2016 and a record low of 63.787 % in 1967. United States US: Survival To Age 65: Male: % of Cohort data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s USA – Table US.World Bank: Health Statistics. Survival to age 65 refers to the percentage of a cohort of newborn infants that would survive to age 65, if subject to age specific mortality rates of the specified year.; ; United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2017 Revision.; Weighted average;

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...

BR: Mortality Rate: Under-5: Male: per 1000 Live Births data was reported at 16.000 Ratio in 2023. This records a decrease from the previous number of 16.200 Ratio for 2022. BR: Mortality Rate: Under-5: Male: per 1000 Live Births data is updated yearly, averaging 64.300 Ratio from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2023, with 64 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 182.300 Ratio in 1960 and a record low of 16.000 Ratio in 2023. BR: Mortality Rate: Under-5: Male: per 1000 Live Births data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Brazil – Table BR.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. Under-five mortality rate, male is the probability per 1,000 that a newborn male baby will die before reaching age five, if subject to male age-specific mortality rates of the specified year.;Estimates developed by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation (UNICEF, WHO, World Bank, UN DESA Population Division) at www.childmortality.org.;Weighted average;Given that data on the incidence and prevalence of diseases are frequently unavailable, mortality rates are often used to identify vulnerable populations. Moreover, they are among the indicators most frequently used to compare socioeconomic development across countries. Under-five mortality rates are higher for boys than for girls in countries in which parental gender preferences are insignificant. Under-five mortality captures the effect of gender discrimination better than infant mortality does, as malnutrition and medical interventions have more significant impacts to this age group. Where female under-five mortality is higher, girls are likely to have less access to resources than boys. Aggregate data for LIC, UMC, LMC, HIC are computed based on the groupings for the World Bank fiscal year in which the data was released by the UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation. This is a sex-disaggregated indicator for Sustainable Development Goal 3.2.1 [https://unstats.un.org/sdgs/metadata/].