Life Expectancy by Country — 2024 World Rankings

Life expectancy at birth estimates the average number of years a newborn would live if current mortality rates persisted throughout their lifetime. It is one of the most powerful single-number summaries of a country's health and development status. The data comes from the World Bank, which compiles mortality data from national vital registration systems, censuses, and WHO estimates.

Global average life expectancy has increased dramatically over the past century — from about 47 years in 1950 to over 73 years today — driven primarily by reductions in infant and child mortality, control of infectious diseases, and improvements in nutrition and sanitation. However, the gap between countries remains enormous: life expectancy exceeds 84 years in Japan and Switzerland but falls below 55 in several sub-Saharan African countries.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused the first significant global decline in life expectancy in decades, with particularly severe impacts in Latin America, South Asia, and parts of Eastern Europe. Most countries have since recovered to pre-pandemic levels, though some (notably the United States) have seen slower recovery. Beyond infectious disease, the main determinants of life expectancy differences between countries are access to healthcare, nutrition, environmental quality, and behavioral factors like smoking and alcohol consumption. Life expectancy data is particularly valuable when disaggregated by sex — women live longer than men in virtually every country, with the gap ranging from 2 to 10 years.