Life Expectancy by Country: 2024 World Rankings

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

Life expectancy worldwide has risen dramatically, from about 47 years in 1950 to about 73 years by the mid-2020s, driven mainly by fewer deaths among infants and children, control of infectious diseases and better nutrition and sanitation. The gap between countries remains large: Japan and Switzerland are near the top of the ranking, while the lowest figures are concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa.

The COVID-19 pandemic caused the first significant global fall in life expectancy in decades, with particularly severe effects 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, recovered more slowly. Beyond infectious disease, the main drivers of differences between countries are access to healthcare, nutrition, environmental quality and behaviors such as smoking and drinking. Life expectancy is especially informative when split by sex: women live longer than men in virtually every country, with gaps ranging from about 2 to 10 years.