Monaco had the highest life expectancy among both men and women worldwide as of 2024. That year, life expectancy for men and women was ** and ** years, respectively. The East Asian countries and regions, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea, and Macao, followed. Many of the countries on the list are struggling with aging populations and a declining workforce as more people enter retirement age compared to people entering employment.

As of 2023, the countries with the highest life expectancy included Switzerland, Japan, and Spain. As of that time, a new-born child in Switzerland could expect to live an average of 84.2 years. Around the world, females consistently have a higher average life expectancy than males, with females in Europe expected to live an average of six years longer than males on this continent. Increases in life expectancy The overall average life expectancy in OECD countries increased by 11.3 years from 1970 to 2019. The countries that saw the largest increases included Turkey, India, and South Korea. The life expectancy at birth in Turkey increased an astonishing 24.4 years over this period. The countries with the lowest life expectancy worldwide as of 2022 were Chad, Lesotho, and Nigeria, where a newborn could be expected to live an average of 53 years. Life expectancy in the U.S. The life expectancy in the United States was 77.43 years as of 2022. Shockingly, the life expectancy in the United States has decreased in recent years, while it continues to increase in other similarly developed countries. The COVID-19 pandemic and increasing rates of suicide and drug overdose deaths from the opioid epidemic have been cited as reasons for this decrease.

Men born in Chad have the lowest life expectancy in the world as of 2024, reaching only 53 years. The lowest life expectancy for women in the world in 2024 was for girls born in Nigeria, with only 55 years. Except for Afghanistan, all the countries with the lowest life expectancy in the world are in Africa.

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

The countries with the lowest life expectancy worldwide include the Nigeria, Chad, and Lesotho. As of 2023, people born in Nigeria could be expected to live only up to ** years. This is almost ** years shorter than the global life expectancy. Life expectancy The global life expectancy has gradually increased over the past couple decades, rising from **** years in 2011 to **** years in 2023. However, the years 2020 and 2021 saw a decrease in global life expectancy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, life expectancy can vary greatly depending on the country and region. For example, all the top 20 countries with the lowest life expectancy worldwide are in Africa. The countries with the highest life expectancy include Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and Japan. Causes of death The countries with the lowest life expectancy worldwide are all low-income or developing countries that lack health care access and treatment that more developed countries can provide. The leading causes of death in these countries therefore differ from those of middle-income and upper-income countries. The leading causes of death in low-income countries include diseases such as HIV/AIDS and malaria, as well as preterm birth complications, which do not cause substantial death in higher income countries.

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

The average for 2022 based on 47 countries was 71.89 years. The highest value was in Macao: 82.75 years and the lowest value was in Afghanistan: 59.77 years. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2022. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

As of 2023, the countries with the highest life expectancy included Liechtenstein, Switzerland, and Japan. In Japan, a person could expect to live up to around ** years. In general, the life expectancy for females is higher than that of males, with lifestyle choices and genetics the two major determining factors of life expectancy. Life expectancy worldwide The overall life expectancy worldwide has increased since the development of modern medicine and technology. In 2011, the global life expectancy was **** years. By 2023, it had increased to **** years. However, the years 2020 and 2021 saw a decline in global life expectancy due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Furthermore, not every country has seen a substantial increase in life expectancy. In Nigeria, for example, the life expectancy is only ** years, almost ***years shorter than the global average. In addition to Nigeria, the countries with the shortest life expectancy include Chad, Lesotho, and the Central African Republic. Life expectancy in the U.S. In the United States, life expectancy at birth is currently ***** years. Life expectancy in the U.S. generally increases every year, however, over the past decade, life expectancy has seen some surprising decreases. The major contributing factors to this drop have been the ongoing opioid epidemic, which claimed around ****** lives in 2022 alone, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

China life expectancy for 2025 is 77.81, a 0.22% increase from 2024.

<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.

Graph and download economic data for Life Expectancy at Birth, Total for Middle Income Countries (SPDYNLE00INMIC) from 1960 to 2023 about life expectancy, life, birth, and income.

Japan life expectancy for 2025 is 85.27, a 0.14% increase from 2024.

<ul style='margin-top:20px;'>

<li>Japan life expectancy for 2024 was <strong>85.15</strong>, a <strong>0.14% increase</strong> from 2023.</li>
<li>Japan life expectancy for 2023 was <strong>85.03</strong>, a <strong>0.14% increase</strong> from 2022.</li>
<li>Japan life expectancy for 2022 was <strong>84.91</strong>, a <strong>0.14% 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.

Graph and download economic data for Life Expectancy at Birth, Total for Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (SPDYNLE00INHPC) from 1960 to 2023 about life expectancy, life, and birth.

International estimates of mean life expectancy at age 40, by country for men and women

United States - Life Expectancy at Birth, Total for Upper Middle Income Countries was 76.19481 Number of Years in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Life Expectancy at Birth, Total for Upper Middle Income Countries reached a record high of 76.19481 in January of 2023 and a record low of 46.32320 in January of 1950. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Life Expectancy at Birth, Total for Upper Middle Income Countries - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on July of 2025.

The average for 2022 based on 24 countries was 74.31 years. The highest value was in Bermuda: 81.57 years and the lowest value was in Haiti: 63.73 years. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2022. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

This European Census dataset covers data on population, fertility, migration, birth and death rates as well as life expectancy in the recent years or projected to 2050.

Graph and download economic data for Life Expectancy at Birth, Total for Developing Countries in Europe and Central Asia (SPDYNLE00INECA) from 1960 to 2023 about Central Asia, life expectancy, life, birth, and Europe.

The average for 2022 based on 7 countries was 81.52 years. The highest value was in Japan: 84 years and the lowest value was in the USA: 77.43 years. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2022. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

This dataset is about countries per year in Africa. It has 3,456 rows. It features 3 columns: country, and life expectancy at birth.

Data Source

The data source is Eurostat.

Content

The data contains life expectancy in Europe grouped by Country (or other, like group of countries), Age, Sex, and Time.

Data transformation

From the initial format in TSV format, we process the data using the notebook Life expectancy in Europe - Convert TSV to CSV to convert it in csv format and add years as a new column (by pivoting the time list of columns). The resulting dataset has the following columns: * unit - the unit used for the values
* sex * geo - geography - countries in EU or groups of countries from EU
* year
* value - the life expectancy for the current sex type, geography and year

Inspiration

Use this dataset to explore info about life expectancy in Europe's countries.