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.
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Life expectancy at birth, total (years) in United States was reported at 78.39 years in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United States - Life expectancy at birth, total (years) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.
This table contains mortality indicators by sex for Canada and all provinces except Prince Edward Island. These indicators are derived from three-year complete life tables. Mortality indicators derived from single-year life tables are also available (table 13-10-0837). For Prince Edward Island, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, mortality indicators derived from three-year abridged life tables are available (table 13-10-0140).
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The USA: Life expectancy, in years, male: The latest value from 2022 is 74.8 years, an increase from 73.5 years in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 69.65 years, based on data from 192 countries. Historically, the average for the USA from 1960 to 2022 is 71.82 years. The minimum value, 66 years, was reached in 1968 while the maximum of 76.5 years was recorded in 2014.
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Life expectancy at birth, female (years) in United States was reported at 81.1 years in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United States - Life expectancy at birth, female (years) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.
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<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.
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Chad: Life expectancy, in years: The latest value from 2022 is 53 years, an increase from 52.53 years in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 72.24 years, based on data from 192 countries. Historically, the average for Chad from 1960 to 2022 is 45.61 years. The minimum value, 38.37 years, was reached in 1960 while the maximum of 53.26 years was recorded in 2019.
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.
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The USA: Life expectancy, in years, female: The latest value from 2022 is 80.2 years, an increase from 79.3 years in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 74.94 years, based on data from 192 countries. Historically, the average for the USA from 1960 to 2022 is 78.15 years. The minimum value, 73.1 years, was reached in 1960 while the maximum of 81.4 years was recorded in 2019.
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Life expectancy at birth, male (years) in United States was reported at 75.8 years in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United States - Life expectancy at birth, male (years) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.
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Russia: Life expectancy, in years, male: The latest value from 2022 is 67.57 years, an increase from 65.51 years in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 69.65 years, based on data from 192 countries. Historically, the average for Russia from 1960 to 2022 is 62.73 years. The minimum value, 57.55 years, was reached in 1994 while the maximum of 68.24 years was recorded in 2019.
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Life expectancy at birth, female (years) in Greenland was reported at 73.45 years in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Greenland - Life expectancy at birth, female (years) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.
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Life expectancy at birth, total (years) in Argentina was reported at 77.4 years in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Argentina - Life expectancy at birth, total (years) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.
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Life expectancy at birth, total (years) in Georgia was reported at 74.5 years in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Georgia - Life expectancy at birth, total (years) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.
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Life expectancy at birth, total (years) in Canada was reported at 81.65 years in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Canada - Life expectancy at birth, total (years) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.
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Life expectancy at birth, total (years) in Germany was reported at 80.54 years in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Germany - Life expectancy at birth, total (years) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.
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Georgia: Life expectancy, in years, male: The latest value from 2022 is 66.76 years, a decline from 66.8 years in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 69.65 years, based on data from 192 countries. Historically, the average for Georgia from 1960 to 2022 is 63.85 years. The minimum value, 57.13 years, was reached in 1960 while the maximum of 68.84 years was recorded in 2017.
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Life expectancy at birth, total (years) in Greenland was reported at 71.55 years in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Greenland - Life expectancy at birth, total (years) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on June of 2025.
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Life expectancy at birth, total (years) in Japan was reported at 84.04 years in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Japan - Life expectancy at birth, total (years) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.
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Norway: Life expectancy, in years: The latest value from 2022 is 82.56 years, a decline from 83.16 years in 2021. In comparison, the world average is 72.24 years, based on data from 192 countries. Historically, the average for Norway from 1960 to 2022 is 77.6 years. The minimum value, 73.08 years, was reached in 1963 while the maximum of 83.21 years was recorded in 2020.
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.