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).

This table contains 2394 series, with data for years 1991 - 1991 (not all combinations necessarily have data for all years). This table contains data described by the following dimensions (Not all combinations are available): Geography (1 items: Canada ...), Population group (19 items: Entire cohort; Income adequacy quintile 1 (lowest);Income adequacy quintile 2;Income adequacy quintile 3 ...), Age (14 items: At 25 years; At 30 years; At 40 years; At 35 years ...), Sex (3 items: Both sexes; Females; Males ...), Characteristics (3 items: Life expectancy; High 95% confidence interval; life expectancy; Low 95% confidence interval; life expectancy ...).

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.

The life expectancy of men at birth in the United States saw no significant changes in 2023 in comparison to the previous year 2022 and remained at around 75.8 years. However, 2023 marked the second consecutive increase 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 the United States with key insights such as total fertility rate, infant mortality rate, and total life expectancy at birth.

Life expectancy at birth and at age 65, by sex, on a three-year average basis.

This table contains mortality indicators by sex for Canada and all provinces except Prince Edward Island. These indicators are derived from three-year complete life tables. Mortality indicators derived from single-year life tables are also available (table 13-10-0837). For Prince Edward Island, Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, mortality indicators derived from three-year abridged life tables are available (table 13-10-0140).

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.

Contribution of ten leading U.S. causes of death to Native American-White life expectancy gaps in the Four Corners States.

Disparities in life expectancy between Black and White Americans increased substantially during the COVID-19 pandemic. During the same period, the US experienced the largest increase in homicide on record. Yet, little research has examined the contribution of homicide to Black-White disparities in longevity in recent years. Using mortality data and population estimates, we conduct a comprehensive decomposition of the drivers of Black-White inequality in life expectancy and lifespan variability between 2019 and 2021 among men. We find that homicide is one of the principal reasons why lifespans have become shorter for Black men than White men in recent years. In 2020 and 2021, homicide was the leading contributor to inequality in both life expectancy and lifespan variability between Black and White men, accounting for far more of the racial gap in longevity and variability than deaths from COVID-19. Addressing homicides should be at the forefront of any public health discussion aimed at promoting racial health equity.

Life expectancy by sex, race/ethnicity, age; trends if available. Source: Santa Clara County Public Health Department, VRBIS, 2007-2016. Data as of 05/26/2017; U.S. Census Bureau; 2010 Census, Tables PCT12, PCT12H, PCT12I, PCT12J, PCT12K, PCT12L, PCT12M; generated by Baath M.; using American FactFinder; Accessed June 20, 2017. METADATA:Notes (String): Lists table title, notes and sourcesYear (Numeric): Year of dataCategory (String): Lists the category representing the data: Santa Clara County is for total population, sex: Male and Female, race/ethnicity: African American, Asian/Pacific Islander, Latino and White (non-Hispanic White only); United StatesAge, in years (Numeric): Life expectancy

Life expectancy at birth, male (years) in South Africa was reported at 62.61 years in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. South Africa - Life expectancy at birth, male (years) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on July of 2025.

Contribution of eleven selected causes of death to Native American-White life expectancy gaps in the Four Corners States.

The life expectancy experiences significant growth in all gender groups in 2023. 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 79.11 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 Gabon and Grenada.

BackgroundLife expectancy at birth in the United States will likely surpass 80 years in the coming decade. Yet recent studies suggest that longevity gains are unevenly shared across age and socioeconomic groups. First, mortality in midlife has risen among non-Hispanic whites. Second, low-educated whites have suffered stalls (men) or declines (women) in adult life expectancy, which is significantly lower than among their college-educated counterparts. Estimating the number of life years lost or gained by age and cause of death, broken down by educational attainment, is crucial in identifying vulnerable populations.Methods and FindingsUsing U.S. vital statistics data from 1990 to 2010, this study decomposes the change in life expectancy at age 25 by age and cause of death across educational attainment groups, broken down by race and gender. The findings reveal that mortality in midlife increased for white women (and to a lesser extent men) with 12 or fewer years of schooling, accounting for most of the stalls or declines in adult life expectancy observed in those groups. Among blacks, mortality declined in nearly all age and educational attainment groups. Although an educational gradient was found across multiple causes of death, between 60 and 80 percent of the gap in adult life expectancy was explained by cardiovascular diseases, smoking-related diseases, and external causes of death. Furthermore, the number of life years lost to smoking-related, external, and other causes of death increased among low- and high school-educated whites, explaining recent stalls or declines in longevity.ConclusionsLarge segments of the American population—particularly low- and high school-educated whites under age 55—are diverging from their college-educated counterparts and losing additional years of life to smoking-related diseases and external causes of death. If this trend continues, old-age mortality may also increase for these birth cohorts in the coming decades.

Life Expectancy at Birth: Male: North Caucasian Federal District (NC) data was reported at 73.290 Year in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 72.070 Year for 2022. Life Expectancy at Birth: Male: North Caucasian Federal District (NC) data is updated yearly, averaging 69.670 Year from Dec 2003 (Median) to 2023, with 21 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 73.290 Year in 2023 and a record low of 63.500 Year in 2003. Life Expectancy at Birth: Male: North Caucasian Federal District (NC) data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal State Statistics Service. The data is categorized under Russia Premium Database’s Demographic and Labour Market – Table RU.GD011: Life Expectancy at Birth: by Region. In January 2010, North Caucasian Federal District was split from Southern Federal District. Since January 2010, North Caucasian Federal District consists of Republic of Dagestan, Republic of Ingushetia, Republic of Kabardino Balkaria, Republic of Karachaevo Cherkessia, Republic of Northern Osetia Alania, Chechen Republic and Stavropol Territory). Since January 2010, Southern Federal District consists of Republic of Adygea, Republic of Kalmykia, Krasnodar Territory, Astrakhan Region, Volgograd Region, Rostov Region. Since July 2016, Republic of Crimea and City of Sevastopol are part of the Southern Federal District. Before that they were forming a separate Crimean Federal District.

In 2022, the life expectancy at birth for women born in the UK was 82.57 years, compared with 78.57 years for men. By age 65 men had a life expectancy of 18.25 years, compared with 20.76 years for women.

Life Expectancy at Birth: Male: Southern Federal District from 2010 (SF) data was reported at 68.590 Year in 2023. This records an increase from the previous number of 67.720 Year for 2022. Life Expectancy at Birth: Male: Southern Federal District from 2010 (SF) data is updated yearly, averaging 65.980 Year from Dec 2003 (Median) to 2023, with 21 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 68.880 Year in 2019 and a record low of 60.600 Year in 2003. Life Expectancy at Birth: Male: Southern Federal District from 2010 (SF) data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Federal State Statistics Service. The data is categorized under Russia Premium Database’s Demographic and Labour Market – Table RU.GD011: Life Expectancy at Birth: by Region. In January 2010, North Caucasian Federal District was split from Southern Federal District. Since January 2010, North Caucasian Federal District consists of Republic of Dagestan, Republic of Ingushetia, Republic of Kabardino Balkaria, Republic of Karachaevo Cherkessia, Republic of Northern Osetia Alania, Chechen Republic and Stavropol Territory). Since January 2010, Southern Federal District consists of Republic of Adygea, Republic of Kalmykia, Krasnodar Territory, Astrakhan Region, Volgograd Region, Rostov Region. Since July 2016, Republic of Crimea and City of Sevastopol are part of the Southern Federal District. Before that they were forming a separate Crimean Federal District.

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.

On average, women live almost 6 years more than men in France. In 2023, female life expectancy at birth in France reached **** years compared to ** years for males. In 2021, life expectancy in France, regardless of gender, was ***** 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 ****, compared to **** years for males. Since then, life expectancy for both genders has been evolving similarly. When life expectancy decreased slightly in 2015, it affected both men and women. Similarly, when life expectancy increased. But one aspect remained the same: male life expectancy remains 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 a 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 several expected healthy years of ****, compared to ** 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 the French aged from 0 to 14 years old. The median age of the population in the country has been increasing since the nineties, while the share of seniors reached almost ** percent of the population in 2013.