South Africa · Life Expectancy at Birth (WHO)
61.5 years2021
Unit: years. Publisher measure: Life expectancy at birth (years).
Life expectancy at birth for the country population, both sexes, under the mortality rates of the reference year.
Measurement basis: WHO modelled period life-table estimates based on sex- and age-specific mortality.
Reference-period cadence: annual.
Source update cadence: biennial. This does not establish a publication date for an individual reading.
Displayed values are rounded, with extra precision when needed to keep a positive estimate positive. Downloads retain the full numeric estimate and the publisher's original display text separately.
A “<” sign means strictly below the stated number. Numeric readings and uncertainty endpoints keep their own comparison signs. A number without a sign does not establish certainty or an observed outcome.
World Health Organization (Global Health Observatory); retrieved 2026-09-07. Retrieval time is separate from an official publisher release vintage.
Download this immutable source capture · Source and coverage corrections
One row per country, indicator and year, with raw values, source links and reuse notices. Thresholds have an empty numeric value and separate number/operator fields; value_kind distinguishes upper bounds from absent readings.
History and uncertainty
Charts plot numeric readings. Reported upper bounds create gaps; their values, uncertainty endpoints and source notes remain available in the table and downloads.
Reported estimates and uncertainty · 22 rows
Each comparison sign applies to its own reading or uncertainty endpoint. Values retain source precision. “Not reported” identifies an absent reading or uncertainty endpoint in this source capture.
| Country | Year | Reading | Lower endpoint | Upper endpoint | Publisher note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Africa | 2000 | 57.11947907 | 56.78433709 | 57.49141231 | — |
| South Africa | 2001 | 55.86714584 | 55.56529082 | 56.20863495 | — |
| South Africa | 2002 | 54.31987896 | 53.96763494 | 54.69928675 | — |
| South Africa | 2003 | 52.93394541 | 52.54237283 | 53.33238695 | — |
| South Africa | 2004 | 52.24650084 | 51.90000184 | 52.75194114 | — |
| South Africa | 2005 | 52.03156981 | 51.68541491 | 52.403935 | — |
| South Africa | 2006 | 52.10797353 | 51.79722861 | 52.52952906 | — |
| South Africa | 2007 | 52.90958642 | 52.49216603 | 53.31805407 | — |
| South Africa | 2008 | 53.91253666 | 53.51953811 | 54.29305617 | — |
| South Africa | 2009 | 55.26976416 | 54.91980492 | 55.6138412 | — |
| South Africa | 2010 | 57.09683041 | 56.81485419 | 57.4377039 | — |
| South Africa | 2011 | 59.100348 | 58.79551059 | 59.46164174 | — |
| South Africa | 2012 | 60.81522121 | 60.56022017 | 61.13475514 | — |
| South Africa | 2013 | 62.08498269 | 61.81328757 | 62.39310108 | — |
| South Africa | 2014 | 62.78312708 | 62.56508653 | 63.09759883 | — |
| South Africa | 2015 | 63.26267522 | 62.9854446 | 63.58917838 | — |
| South Africa | 2016 | 63.87748533 | 63.63200333 | 64.25132031 | — |
| South Africa | 2017 | 64.74836762 | 64.46978089 | 65.09200544 | — |
| South Africa | 2018 | 65.31532246 | 65.03443026 | 65.62744238 | — |
| South Africa | 2019 | 65.83739077 | 65.50229949 | 66.28236185 | — |
| South Africa | 2020 | 64.30356494 | 63.85867937 | 64.75510388 | — |
| South Africa | 2021 | 61.49918805 | 61.13477434 | 61.88580971 | — |
One row per country, indicator and year, with raw values, source links and reuse notices. Thresholds have an empty numeric value and separate number/operator fields; value_kind distinguishes upper bounds from absent readings.