Between 1960 and 2022, life expectancy from birth in Australia rose from approximately 71 to 83 years. While this change is small in comparison to many other countries over the given period, it is because Australia's demographic development was already among the most advanced in the world during the 20th century. Today, Australia had one of the highest life expectancies in the world.

In 2019, a 65 year old female in Australia was expected to live a further 22.7 years, while men were expected live a further 20 years. Although the male life expectancy is around three years under the life expectancy of women, male life expectancy has continued to grow while the life expectancy of women remained constant for the previous three years.

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.

Life expectancy in Australia was just below 35 in the year 1870, and over the course of the next 150 years, it is expected to have increased to 83.2 by the year 2020. Although life expectancy has generally increased throughout Australia's history, there were several times where the rate deviated from its previous trajectory. the most noticeable changes were between 1890 and 1920. This period included Australia's Independence movement, the implementation of the 'White Australia' policy, the First World War and Spanish Flu epidemic, all of which impacted the demographics of Australia.

This dataset presents life expectancy at birth estimates for males, females and persons. This dataset covers the reference period 2010-12 to 2017-19, and is based on Greater Capital City Statistical Areas (GCCSA), according to the 2016 edition of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS).

For further information please visit the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Internationally, life tables are used to measure mortality. In its simplest form, a life table is generated from age-specific death rates and the resulting values are used to measure mortality, survivorship and life expectancy. The life table depicts the mortality experience of a hypothetical group of newborn babies throughout their entire lifetime. It is based on the assumption that this group is subject to the age-specific mortality rates of the reference period. Typically this hypothetical group is 100,000 persons in size.

AURIN has spatially enabled the original data.

Australia Life Expectancy at Birth: Female data was reported at 85.300 Year in 2022. This records a decrease from the previous number of 85.400 Year for 2021. Australia Life Expectancy at Birth: Female data is updated yearly, averaging 80.400 Year from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2022, with 63 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 85.400 Year in 2021 and a record low of 74.000 Year in 1960. Australia Life Expectancy at Birth: Female data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. 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.;(1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2022 Revision; (2) Statistical databases and publications from national statistical offices; (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics.;Weighted average;

Females born in 2019 in Australia have a life expectancy of 85 years, compared to males born in 2019 who have a life expectancy of 80.9 years. Since 2000, life expectancy at birth in Australia has increased by over four years for males, while female life expectancy has increased by three years.

Australia Life Expectancy at Birth: Male data was reported at 81.200 Year in 2022. This records a decrease from the previous number of 81.300 Year for 2021. Australia Life Expectancy at Birth: Male data is updated yearly, averaging 74.300 Year from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2022, with 63 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 81.300 Year in 2021 and a record low of 67.600 Year in 1966. Australia Life Expectancy at Birth: Male data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Australia – Table AU.World Bank.WDI: Social: Health Statistics. 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.;(1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects: 2022 Revision; (2) Statistical databases and publications from national statistical offices; (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics.;Weighted average;

This dataset presents life expectancy at birth estimates for males, females and persons. This dataset covers the reference period 2010-12 to 2017-19, and is based on Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4), according to the 2016 edition of the Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS).

For further information please visit the Australian Bureau of Statistics.

Internationally, life tables are used to measure mortality. In its simplest form, a life table is generated from age-specific death rates and the resulting values are used to measure mortality, survivorship and life expectancy. The life table depicts the mortality experience of a hypothetical group of newborn babies throughout their entire lifetime. It is based on the assumption that this group is subject to the age-specific mortality rates of the reference period. Typically this hypothetical group is 100,000 persons in size.

AURIN has spatially enabled the original data.

School life expectancy, primary, male (years) in Australia was reported at 7.0301 years in 2018, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Australia - School life expectancy, primary, male (years) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on March of 2025.

The life expectancy at birth in Australia saw no significant changes in 2021 in comparison to the previous year 2020 and remained at around 83.3 years. Nevertheless, 2021 still represents a peak in the life expectancy in Australia. Find more statistics on other topics about Australia with key insights such as number of deaths from cancer and number of suicides.

Source: AIHW Burden of Disease Studies 2011, 2015 and 2018.

Updated 8 March 2023

Table: HALE at birth for ACT and Australia, 2011 to 2018

This dataset presents the footprint of the rate of potentially avoidable deaths per 100,000 people, age-standardised, by sex. Potentially avoidable deaths are deaths below the age of 75 from conditions that are potentially preventable through individualised care and/or treatable through existing primary or hospital care. The data spans the years of 2009-2016 and is aggregated to 2015 Department of Health Primary Health Network (PHN) areas, based on the 2011 Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). The data is based on analysis of the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) National Mortality Database (NMD). The database includes cause of death information which is sourced from the Registrars of Births, Deaths and Marriages in each state and territory, the National Coronial Information System, and compiled and coded by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). For further information about this dataset, visit the data source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare - Life Expectancy and Potentially Avoidable Deaths 2014-2016 Data Tables. Please note: AURIN has spatially enabled the original data using the Department of Health - PHN Areas. Rates have been age-standardised to facilitate comparisons between populations with different age structures.

This dataset presents the footprint of the average number of years a person is expected to live at birth by sex, assuming that the current age-specific death rates are experienced throughout their …Show full descriptionThis dataset presents the footprint of the average number of years a person is expected to live at birth by sex, assuming that the current age-specific death rates are experienced throughout their life. The data spans the years of 2011-2016 and is aggregated to 2015 Department of Health Primary Health Network (PHN) areas, based on the 2011 Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS). The data is based on the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) analysis of life expectancy estimates as provided by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Life expectancies at birth were calculated with reference to state/territory and Australian life tables (where appropriate) for a three year period. The disaggregation used for reporting life expectancy at birth is PHN area. These values are provided by the ABS. For further information about this dataset, visit the data source: Australian Institute of Health and Welfare - Life Expectancy and Potentially Avoidable Deaths 2014-2016 Data Tables. Please note: AURIN has spatially enabled the original data using the Department of Health - PHN Areas. Life expectancy for 2014-2016 are based on the average number of deaths over three years, 2014-2016, and the estimated resident population (ERP) as at 30 Jun 2015. Copyright attribution: Government of the Commonwealth of Australia - Australian Institute of Health and Welfare, (2018): ; accessed from AURIN on 12/3/2020. Licence type: Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia (CC BY 3.0 AU)

This dataset presents the life tables for males and females for the reference period 2008-2015. It contains life expectancy at birth estimates for males, females and persons for Statistical Area Level 4 (SA4). Boundaries are based on ABS ASGS 2011.

For further information please visit the Australian Bureau of Statistics

AURIN has spatially enabled the original data.

Chart and table of Australia life expectancy from 1950 to 2025. United Nations projections are also included through the year 2100.

This scatter chart displays life expectancy at birth (year) against land area (km²) and is filtered where the region is Australia and New Zealand and the date is 2021. The data is about countries per year.

BackgroundThe Indigenous population of Australia suffers considerable disadvantage across a wide range of socio-economic indicators, and is therefore the focus of many policy initiatives attempting to ‘close the gap’ between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians. Unfortunately, past population estimates have proved unreliable as denominators for these indicators. The aim of the paper is to contribute more robust estimates for the Northern Territory Indigenous population for the period 1966–2011, and hence estimate one of the most important of socio-economic indicators, life expectancy at birth.MethodA consistent time series of population estimates from 1966 to 2011, based off the more reliable 2011 official population estimates, was created by a mix of reverse and forward cohort survival. Adjustments were made to ensure sensible sex ratios and consistency with recent birth registrations. Standard life table methods were employed to estimate life expectancy. Drawing on an approach from probabilistic forecasting, confidence intervals surrounding population numbers and life expectancies were estimated.ResultsThe Northern Territory Indigenous population in 1966 numbered between 23,800 and 26,100, compared to between 66,100 and 73,200 in 2011. In 1966–71 Indigenous life expectancy at birth lay between 49.1 and 56.9 years for males and between 49.7 and 57.9 years for females, whilst by 2006–11 it had increased to between 60.5 and 66.2 years for males and between 65.4 and 70.8 for females. Over the last 40 years the gap with all-Australian life expectancy has not narrowed, fluctuating at about 17 years for both males and females. Whilst considerable progress has been made in closing the gap in under-five mortality, at most other ages the mortality rate differential has increased.ConclusionsA huge public health challenge remains. Efforts need to be redoubled to reduce the large gap in life expectancy between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians.

From 2015 to 2017, the average life expectancy of non-Indigenous women in major cities in Australia was 83.7 years. By comparison, men had a shorter life expectancy of around three years. Although life expectancy dropped slightly in regional areas, non-Indigenous Australians in remote areas enjoyed a similar life expectancy to their major city counterparts.

This dataset presents the footprint of statistics related to deaths due to all causes (combined) by sex. The reported statistics include year of death, total deaths, crude rates, age-standardised rates, rate ratio, median age at death, premature deaths, potential years of life lost and potentially avoidable deaths. The data spans the years of 2012-2016 and is aggregated to Local Government Area (LGA) geographic areas from the 2016 Australian Statistical Geography Standard (ASGS).

Mortality Over Regions and Time (MORT) books are workbooks that contain recent deaths data for specific geographical areas, sourced from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) National Mortality Database. They present various statistics related to deaths by all causes and leading causes of death by sex for each geographical area.

For further information about this dataset, visit the data source:Australian Institute of Health and Welfare - MORT Books.

Please note:

• AURIN has spatially enabled the original data.

• Cause of Death Unit Record File data are provided to the AIHW by the Registries of Births, Deaths and Marriages and the National Coronial Information System (managed by the Victorian Department of Justice) and include cause of death coded by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). The data are maintained by the AIHW in the National Mortality Database.

• Year refers to the year of registration of death. Deaths registered in 2013 and earlier are based on the final version of the cause of death data; deaths registered in 2014 are based on revised version; deaths registered in 2015 and 2016 are based on preliminary versions. Revised and preliminary versions are subject to further revision by the ABS.

• Cause of death information are based on the underlying cause of death and are classified according to the International Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD). Deaths registered in 1997 onwards are classified according to the 10th revision (ICD-10).

• Unknown/missing includes deaths where place of usual residence was overseas, no fixed abode, offshore and migratory, and undefined. Summary measures and cause of death data are not presented for any LGA with less than 10 deaths in a single year.

• Population counts are based on estimated resident populations at 30 June for each year. Australian estimated resident population data are sourced from Australian demographic statistics (ABS cat. no. 3101.0).