Notes

  • Topic: Health: Mortality
  • Definition: 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.
  • Source: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects, (2) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (3) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (4) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Reprot (various years), (5) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database, and (6) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme.
  • Statistical concept and methodology: Life expectancy at birth used here is the average number of years a newborn is expected to live if mortality patterns at the time of its birth remain constant in the future. It reflects the overall mortality level of a population, and summarizes the mortality pattern that prevails across all age groups in a given year. It is calculated in a period life table which provides a snapshot of a population's mortality pattern at a given time. It therefore does not reflect the mortality pattern that a person actually experiences during his/her life, which can be calculated in a cohort life table. High mortality in young age groups significantly lowers the life expectancy at birth. But if a person survives his/her childhood of high mortality, he/she may live much longer. For example, in a population with a life expectancy at birth of 50, there may be few people dying at age 50. The life expectancy at birth may be low due to the high childhood mortality so that once a person survives his/her childhood, he/she may live much longer than 50 years.
  • Development relevance: Mortality rates for different age groups (infants, children, and adults) and overall mortality indicators (life expectancy at birth or survival to a given age) are important indicators of health status in a country. Because data on the incidence and prevalence of diseases are frequently unavailable, mortality rates are often used to identify vulnerable populations. And they are among the indicators most frequently used to compare socioeconomic development across countries.
  • Limitations and exceptions: Annual data series from United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects are interpolated data from 5-year period data. Therefore they may not reflect real events as much as observed data.

List of countries ordered by: Life expectancy at birth, male (years)

CountryLife expectancy at birth, male (years)
1China, Hong Kong SAR81.40 years
2Iceland81.30 years
3Italy81.10 years
4Switzerland81.10 years
5Japan80.79 years
6Sweden80.60 years
7Spain80.60 years
8Australia80.50 years
9Singapore80.40 years
10Canada80.24 years
11Norway80.10 years
12Israel80.10 years
13Netherlands80.00 years
14United Kingdom79.80 years
15Malta79.80 years
16New Zealand79.73 years
17Austria79.60 years
18Ireland79.60 years
19France79.50 years
20Luxembourg79.40 years
21Denmark79.10 years
22Greece79.10 years
23Republic of Korea78.99 years
24Chile78.99 years
25Belgium78.80 years
26Finland78.80 years
27Germany78.70 years
28China, Macao SAR78.69 years
29Portugal78.40 years
30Slovenia78.20 years
31Cyprus78.17 years
32Lebanon77.85 years
33Cuba77.56 years
34Qatar77.53 years
35Brunei Darussalam77.23 years
36Costa Rica77.22 years
37Guam76.86 years
38United States Virgin Islands76.80 years
39United Arab Emirates76.47 years
40Czech Republic76.40 years
41United States of America76.40 years
42Maldives76.02 years
43Bahrain75.90 years
44Puerto Rico75.78 years
45Albania75.59 years
46Oman75.33 years
47Panama74.82 years
48New Caledonia74.70 years
49Mexico74.57 years
50French Polynesia74.55 years
51Iran74.53 years
52China74.50 years
53Poland74.40 years
54Croatia74.30 years
55Montenegro74.23 years
56Bosnia and Herzegovina74.13 years
57Antigua and Barbuda73.71 years
58Slovakia73.70 years
59Uruguay73.69 years
60Kuwait73.55 years
61Jamaica73.47 years
62Ecuador73.44 years
63Barbados73.32 years
64Morocco73.28 years
65TFYR Macedonia73.25 years
66Aruba73.20 years
67Saudi Arabia73.17 years
68Serbia73.00 years
69Algeria72.74 years
70Tunisia72.67 years
71Argentina72.64 years
72Malaysia72.58 years
73Jordan72.56 years
74Saint Lucia72.55 years
75Bahamas72.45 years
76Estonia72.40 years
77Hungary72.40 years
78Turkey72.28 years
79Peru72.21 years
80Nicaragua72.16 years
81Sri Lanka71.68 years
82Cabo Verde71.56 years
83Romania71.40 years
84Thailand71.33 years
85Georgia71.31 years
86Viet Nam71.21 years
87Grenada71.14 years
88State of Palestine71.12 years
89Bulgaria71.10 years
90Mauritius71.08 years
91Armenia71.06 years
92Brazil71.03 years
93Saint Vincent and the Grenadines70.97 years
94Paraguay70.91 years
95Honduras70.88 years
96Bangladesh70.75 years
97Colombia70.70 years
98Samoa70.66 years
99Dominican Republic70.62 years
100Venezuela70.39 years
101Vanuatu70.15 years
102Tonga70.07 years
103Lithuania69.90 years
104Bhutan69.57 years
105Egypt69.17 years
106Latvia69.10 years
107Libya69.04 years
108Belarus68.60 years
109Nepal68.57 years
110El Salvador68.56 years
111Guatemala68.52 years
112Seychelles68.40 years
113Micronesia (Fed. States of)68.24 years
114Suriname68.16 years
115Azerbaijan67.76 years
116Republic of Moldova67.58 years
117Kazakhstan67.50 years
118Belize67.45 years
119Iraq67.44 years
120Fiji67.31 years
121Trinidad and Tobago67.13 years
122Indonesia67.04 years
123Dem. People's Republic of Korea66.92 years
124India66.91 years
125Timor-Leste66.78 years
126Solomon Islands66.72 years
127Kyrgyzstan66.70 years
128Cambodia66.66 years
129Ukraine66.37 years
130Tajikistan66.35 years
131Bolivia66.32 years
132LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN65.78 years
133Mongolia65.63 years
134Russian Federation65.45 years
135Pakistan65.44 years
136Laos65.17 years
137Uzbekistan65.14 years
138Philippines65.04 years
139Senegal64.92 years
140Sao Tome and Principe64.54 years
141Guyana64.25 years
142Gabon64.14 years
143Tanzania64.11 years
144Myanmar64.03 years
145Madagascar63.99 years
146Syrian Arab Republic63.90 years
147Kiribati63.00 years
148Malawi62.85 years
149Yemen62.69 years
150Ethiopia62.66 years
151Namibia62.45 years
152Botswana62.22 years
153Sudan62.22 years
154Least developed countries62.13 years
155Eritrea62.00 years
156Comoros61.91 years
157Rwanda61.79 years
158Mauritania61.74 years
159Turkmenistan61.63 years
160Congo61.37 years
161Niger61.05 years
162Haiti60.98 years
163Djibouti60.69 years
164Papua New Guinea60.68 years
165Ghana60.52 years
166Kenya60.28 years
167Liberia60.18 years
168Afghanistan59.52 years
169Togo59.39 years
170Gambia59.13 years
171Zambia58.81 years
172Guinea58.73 years
173Mali58.63 years
174Benin58.31 years
175Zimbabwe57.72 years
176Burkina Faso57.64 years
177D.R. Congo57.60 years
178Uganda57.34 years
179Equatorial Guinea56.64 years
180South Africa55.46 years
181South Sudan55.15 years
182Burundi55.13 years
183Cameroon54.79 years
184Somalia54.09 years
185Mozambique54.00 years
186Guinea-Bissau53.72 years
187Nigeria52.70 years
188Angola51.19 years
189Côte d'Ivoire51.09 years
190Chad50.81 years
191Sierra Leone50.77 years
192Lesotho49.89 years
193Swaziland49.63 years
194Central African Republic49.52 years

Source: Health Nutrition and Population Statistics - World Bank - Downloaded in August 2017