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.

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).

The life expectancy of men at birth in India saw no significant changes in 2022 in comparison to the previous year 2021 and remained at around 66.26 years. 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 India with key insights such as life expectancy of women at birth, crude birth rate, and death rate.

In 2022, the life expectancy of men at birth in Mexico increased by 5.5 years (+8.33 percent) compared to 2021. In total, the life expectancy amounted to 71.55 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 Mexico with key insights such as life expectancy of women at birth, crude birth rate, and death rate.

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.

In 2022, the life expectancy of men at birth in Japan remained nearly unchanged at around 81.05 years. Still, 2022 marked the second consecutive decline 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 Japan with key insights such as crude birth rate, death rate, and total fertility rate.

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.

The life expectancy of men at birth in Canada saw no significant changes in 2022 in comparison to the previous year 2021 and remained at around 79.12 years. Yet 2022 saw the lowest life expectancy in Canada with 79.12 years. 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 Canada with key insights such as total life expectancy at birth, death rate, and life expectancy of women at birth.

The average life expectancy at birth in France for men in 2023 was 80.1 years. Although high, the country observed disparities within its territory with a gap of more than eight years of life expectancy between the two extremes. Île-de-France is the region where men live the longest on average and Mayotte (overseas department) the one where they live the shortest.

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.

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 at birth for men in Singapore was 82.3 years. Comparatively, the male life expectancy at birth was 64.6 years in Myanmar. That year, the life expectancy for women in Southeast Asia was also highest in Singapore at around 86.5 years.

A 65 year old man in Australia had an average life expectancy of another 20.2 years in 2022. This was the highest among OECD countries. The statistic shows the life expectancy of men at the age of 65 years in OECD countries in 2022.

The life expectancy experiences significant growth in all gender groups in 2022. Comparing the two different gender groups for the year 2022, the 'life expectancy of women at birth' leads the ranking with 77.77 years. Contrastingly, 'life expectancy of men at birth' is ranked last, with 67.57 years. Their difference, compared to life expectancy of women at birth, lies at 10.2 years. 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 further similar statistics for other countries or regions like Thailand and Brunei.

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.

Significant fluctuations have been observed in all gender groups over time for the life expectancy. Comparing the two different gender groups for the year 2022, the 'life expectancy of women at birth' leads the ranking with 85.9 years. Contrastingly, 'life expectancy of men at birth' is ranked last, with 80.4 years. Their difference, compared to life expectancy of women at birth, lies at 5.5 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 further similar statistics for other countries or regions like Namibia and Georgia.

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.

The life expectancy experiences significant growth in all gender groups in 2022. Comparing the two different gender groups for the year 2022, the 'life expectancy of women at birth' leads the ranking with 78.16 years. Contrastingly, 'life expectancy of men at birth' is ranked last, with 71.55 years. Their difference, compared to life expectancy of women at birth, lies at 6.61 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 further similar statistics for other countries or regions like Barbados and Oman.

In 2022, the life expectancy has significantly decreased in all gender groups compared to the previous time point. Comparing the two different gender groups for the year 2022, the 'life expectancy of women at birth' leads the ranking with 85.2 years. Contrastingly, 'life expectancy of men at birth' is ranked last, with 80.7 years. Their difference, compared to life expectancy of women at birth, lies at 4.5 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 further similar statistics for other countries or regions like Jamaica and Lesotho.