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.

This chart shows global life expectancy, at birth, from the year 1800 to 2100.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

This statistic shows the median age of the world population from 1950 to 2100. By 2100, the global median age is projected to be 41.9 years of age.

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.

Belarus BY: Life Expectancy at Birth data was reported at 89.400 Year in 2100. This records an increase from the previous number of 89.300 Year for 2099. Belarus BY: Life Expectancy at Birth data is updated yearly, averaging 79.800 Year from Jun 1989 (Median) to 2100, with 112 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 89.400 Year in 2100 and a record low of 68.100 Year in 1999. Belarus BY: 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 Belarus – Table BY.US Census Bureau: Demographic Projection.

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)

Today, globally, women of childbearing age have an average of approximately 2.2 children over the course of their lifetime. In pre-industrial times, most women could expect to have somewhere between five and ten live births throughout their lifetime; however, the demographic transition then sees fertility rates fall significantly. Looking ahead, it is believed that the global fertility rate will fall below replacement level in the 2050s, which will eventually lead to population decline when life expectancy plateaus. Recent decades Between the 1950s and 1970s, the global fertility rate was roughly five children per woman - this was partly due to the post-WWII baby boom in many countries, on top of already-high rates in less-developed countries. The drop around 1960 can be attributed to China's "Great Leap Forward", where famine and disease in the world's most populous country saw the global fertility rate drop by roughly 0.5 children per woman. Between the 1970s and today, fertility rates fell consistently, although the rate of decline noticeably slowed as the baby boomer generation then began having their own children. Replacement level fertility Replacement level fertility, i.e. the number of children born per woman that a population needs for long-term stability, is approximately 2.1 children per woman. Populations may continue to grow naturally despite below-replacement level fertility, due to reduced mortality and increased life expectancy, however, these will plateau with time and then population decline will occur. It is believed that the global fertility rate will drop below replacement level in the mid-2050s, although improvements in healthcare and living standards will see population growth continue into the 2080s when the global population will then start falling.

Since 1970, the median age of China’s population has continued to increase from around ** years to around **** years in 2020. According to estimates from the United Nations, the increasing trend will slow down when the median age will reach ** years in the middle of the 21st century and will remain at around ** years up to 2100. China’s aging population Although the median age of China’s population is still lower than in many developed countries, for example in Japan, the consequences of a rapidly aging population have already become a concern for the country’s future. As the most populated country in the world, the large labor force in China contributed to the country’s astonishing economic growth in the last decades. Nowadays however, the aging population is going to become a burden for China’s social welfare system and could change China’s economic situation. Reasons for the aging population Like in many other countries, increasing life expectancy is regarded as the main reason for the aging of the population. As healthcare and living standards have improved, life expectancy in China has also increased. In addition, the one-child policy led to a decreasing fertility rate in China, which further increased the share of older people in the society. Even though the one-child policy has been abolished in 2016, many young people are refraining from having children, largely due to the high costs of raising a child, career pressure and the pursuit of freedom.

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.

The number of people aged 100 years or more (centenarians) worldwide is expected to increase significantly over the coming decades. While there were only ******* centenarians in 2000, this number is predicted to increase to over **** million by 2100. As people on the planet live longer, global life expectancy increases.

Argentina AR: Life Expectancy at Birth data was reported at 90.700 Year in 2100. This records an increase from the previous number of 90.600 Year for 2099. Argentina AR: Life Expectancy at Birth data is updated yearly, averaging 81.400 Year from Jun 1980 (Median) to 2100, with 121 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 90.700 Year in 2100 and a record low of 70.200 Year in 1981. Argentina AR: 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 Argentina – Table AR.US Census Bureau: Demographic Projection.

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

Azerbaijan Life Expectancy at Birth data was reported at 89.900 Year in 2100. This records an increase from the previous number of 89.800 Year for 2099. Azerbaijan Life Expectancy at Birth data is updated yearly, averaging 80.850 Year from Jun 1989 (Median) to 2100, with 112 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 89.900 Year in 2100 and a record low of 62.400 Year in 1994. Azerbaijan 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 Azerbaijan – Table AZ.US Census Bureau: Demographic Projection.