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.

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, 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 September of 2025.

In 2023, a woman in the United States aged 65 years could expect to live another **** years on average. This number decreased in the years 2020 and 2021, after reaching a high of **** 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 2023, a man aged 65 years could be expected to live another 18.2 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 **** years, but by 2023 it had decreased to **** years. Likewise, the life expectancy for men decreased from **** years to **** 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 2022. The leading causes of death among U.S. women The leading causes of death among women in the United States in 2022 were heart disease, cancer, stroke, and COVID-19. That year, heart disease and cancer accounted for a combined **** percent of all deaths among women, while around *** 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 ***** leading cause of death among women but the ******* leading cause of death overall in the United States.

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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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/

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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.

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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

In 1970, women born in the U.S. could expect to live for 1.3 years more than women in the Soviet Union, and men in the U.S. could expect to live for 2.7 years longer than their Soviet counterparts. U.S. figures would steadily increase over the following decade, whereas the economic decline of the Soviet Union would see life expectancy fall by two years for men and 0.8 years for women. In 1980, the difference in life expectancy from birth between the two countries was 7.5 years for men, and 4.8 years for women. This difference has largely been attributed to an increase in alcohol and substance abuse and accidental deaths among males in the Soviet Union, as well as more accurate reporting methods in the Soviet Union (suggesting that early figures may no be fully representational). Although Soviet life expectancy did increase in the 1980s, the gap between life expectancy there and in the U.S. remained significantly larger than in 1970, and this trend continued well into the 1990s and early-2000s as the post-Soviet states adjusted to the socio-economic impact of the Union's dissolution.

School life expectancy, primary and secondary, gender parity index (GPI) in United States was reported at 0.99492 GPI in 2018, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United States - School life expectancy, primary and secondary, gender parity index - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on September of 2025.

In 2022, people who identified as Asian had a projected life expectancy of 84.5 years, the highest in the United States, whereas an American Indian or Alaska native had the lowest with 67.9 years. From 2019 to 2021, life expectancy at birth declined in the U.S., regardless of race and ethnicity. One of the main drivers of this decline was the COVID-19 pandemic.

The life expectancy of women at birth in the United States stood at 81.1 years in 2023. Between 1960 and 2023, the life expectancy rose by eight years, though the increase followed an uneven trajectory rather than a consistent upward trend.

Vital statistics of life expectancy and estimated total, disability-free, and disabled life expectancy by gender for Americans at age 50.

Time series data for the statistic School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, gender parity index (GPI) and country American Samoa. Indicator Definition:Ratio of female school life expectancy to the male school life expectancy. It is calculated by dividing the female value for the indicator by the male value for the indicator. A GPI equal to 1 indicates parity between females and males. In general, a value less than 1 indicates disparity in favor of males and a value greater than 1 indicates disparity in favor of females.

School life expectancy, tertiary, gender parity index (GPI) in United States was reported at 1.3478 GPI in 2018, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. United States - School life expectancy, tertiary, gender parity index - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.

School life expectancy, primary and secondary, gender parity index (GPI) in North America was reported at 0.99571 GPI in 2019, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. North America - School life expectancy, primary and secondary, gender parity index - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on September of 2025.

School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, gender parity index (GPI) in North America was reported at 1.076 GPI in 2019, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. North America - School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, gender parity index - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on September of 2025.

This dataset explores Health-adjusted life expectancy by sex in Canada for 2001. 1. The estimates are based on two years of death data (2000 and 2001). 2. Life expectancy is the number of years a person would be expected to live, starting at birth, if the age- and sex-specific mortality rates for a given observation period (such as a calendar year) were held constant over the estimated life span. 3. Health-adjusted life expectancy is a more comprehensive indicator than that of life expectancy because it introduces the concept of quality of life. Health-adjusted life expectancy is the number of years in full health that an individual can expect to live given the current morbidity and mortality conditions. Health-adjusted life expectancy uses the Health Utility Index (HUI) to weigh years lived in good health higher than years lived in poor health. Thus, health-adjusted life expectancy is not only a measure of quantity of life but also a measure of quality of life. 4. Canada, excluding the territories. Source: Statistics Canada, CANSIM, table 102-0121 and Catalogue no. 82-221-X. Last modified: 2007-11-26.

From the mid-19th century until today, life expectancy at birth in the United States has roughly doubled, from 39.4 years in 1850 to 79.6 years in 2025. It is estimated that life expectancy in the U.S. began its upward trajectory in the 1880s, largely driven by the decline in infant and child mortality through factors such as vaccination programs, antibiotics, and other healthcare advancements. Improved food security and access to clean water, as well as general increases in living standards (such as better housing, education, and increased safety) also contributed to a rise in life expectancy across all age brackets. There were notable dips in life expectancy; with an eight year drop during the American Civil War in the 1860s, a seven year drop during the Spanish Flu empidemic in 1918, and a 2.5 year drop during the Covid-19 pandemic. There were also notable plateaus (and minor decreases) not due to major historical events, such as that of the 2010s, which has been attributed to a combination of factors such as unhealthy lifestyles, poor access to healthcare, poverty, and increased suicide rates, among others. However, despite the rate of progress slowing since the 1950s, most decades do see a general increase in the long term, and current UN projections predict that life expectancy at birth in the U.S. will increase by another nine years before the end of the century.

Total, disability-free, and disabled life expectancy by gender and living arrangement for non-Hispanic whites at age 50: Population-based estimates.

This dataset provides values for SCHOOL LIFE EXPECTANCY PRIMARY GENDER PARITY INDEX WB DATA.HTML reported in several countries. The data includes current values, previous releases, historical highs and record lows, release frequency, reported unit and currency.

Over the last two observations, the life expectancy has significantly increased in all gender groups As part of the positive trend, the life expectancy reaches the maximum value for the different genders at the end of the comparison period. Particularly noteworthy is the life expectancy of women at birth, which has the highest value of 85 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 U.S. Virgin Islands and Egypt.

Total life expectancy, healthy life expectancy and unhealthy life expectancy at age 60 in years and the percentage of healthy years by gender for Chile, Costa Rica and Spain during the mid-2000s.