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: Derived from male and female life expectancy at birth from sources such as: (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, total (years)

CountryLife expectancy at birth, total (years)
1China, Hong Kong SAR84.28 years
2Japan83.84 years
3Italy83.49 years
4Spain83.38 years
5Switzerland83.20 years
6Iceland82.86 years
7France82.67 years
8Singapore82.60 years
9Sweden82.55 years
10Australia82.45 years
11Luxembourg82.23 years
12Republic of Korea82.16 years
13Canada82.14 years
14Norway82.10 years
15Israel82.05 years
16Malta81.95 years
17Austria81.84 years
18Chile81.79 years
19Netherlands81.71 years
20United Kingdom81.60 years
21Greece81.59 years
22Portugal81.52 years
23Ireland81.50 years
24New Zealand81.46 years
25Finland81.39 years
26Belgium81.29 years
27Denmark81.10 years
28Germany81.09 years
29Slovenia81.08 years
30China, Macao SAR80.77 years
31Cyprus80.31 years
32United States Virgin Islands79.87 years
33Lebanon79.63 years
34Costa Rica79.59 years
35Puerto Rico79.57 years
36Cuba79.55 years
37Czech Republic79.47 years
38Guam79.38 years
39Brunei Darussalam79.04 years
40Qatar78.76 years
41United States of America78.74 years
42Poland78.20 years
43Albania78.01 years
44New Caledonia77.77 years
45Panama77.77 years
46United Arab Emirates77.54 years
47Oman77.32 years
48Croatia77.28 years
49Slovakia77.21 years
50Uruguay77.14 years
51Estonia77.13 years
52Maldives76.98 years
53Mexico76.92 years
54Bahrain76.82 years
55French Polynesia76.75 years
56Bosnia and Herzegovina76.59 years
57Montenegro76.34 years
58Argentina76.33 years
59Ecuador76.10 years
60Antigua and Barbuda76.10 years
61China75.99 years
62Hungary75.96 years
63Jamaica75.80 years
64Viet Nam75.78 years
65Barbados75.66 years
66Iran75.59 years
67Aruba75.57 years
68TFYR Macedonia75.50 years
69Serbia75.49 years
70Turkey75.43 years
71Bahamas75.40 years
72Saint Lucia75.18 years
73Lithuania75.12 years
74Nicaragua75.10 years
75Algeria75.04 years
76Tunisia74.98 years
77Romania74.96 years
78Sri Lanka74.95 years
79Malaysia74.88 years
80Georgia74.82 years
81Armenia74.80 years
82Peru74.78 years
83Kuwait74.70 years
84Brazil74.68 years
85Thailand74.60 years
86Saudi Arabia74.49 years
87Bulgaria74.47 years
88Venezuela74.41 years
89Mauritius74.35 years
90Morocco74.29 years
91Jordan74.20 years
92Colombia74.18 years
93Latvia74.12 years
94Samoa73.76 years
95Dominican Republic73.68 years
96Belarus73.62 years
97Grenada73.52 years
98Cabo Verde73.36 years
99Honduras73.33 years
100Seychelles73.23 years
101State of Palestine73.07 years
102Saint Vincent and the Grenadines73.05 years
103Paraguay73.03 years
104El Salvador73.00 years
105Tonga72.94 years
106Vanuatu72.16 years
107Bangladesh72.00 years
108Kazakhstan72.00 years
109Guatemala71.96 years
110Libya71.83 years
111Republic of Moldova71.63 years
112Egypt71.32 years
113Suriname71.29 years
114Ukraine71.19 years
115Russian Federation70.91 years
116Azerbaijan70.85 years
117Kyrgyzstan70.65 years
118Trinidad and Tobago70.56 years
119Dem. People's Republic of Korea70.34 years
120Fiji70.26 years
121Belize70.19 years
122Syrian Arab Republic70.09 years
123Nepal69.97 years
124Bhutan69.83 years
125Mongolia69.82 years
126Tajikistan69.77 years
127Iraq69.59 years
128Micronesia (Fed. States of)69.23 years
129Indonesia69.07 years
130Bolivia68.74 years
131Cambodia68.66 years
132Timor-Leste68.53 years
133Uzbekistan68.45 years
134Philippines68.41 years
135India68.35 years
136Solomon Islands68.15 years
137LATIN AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN67.52 years
138Senegal66.80 years
139Laos66.54 years
140Sao Tome and Principe66.51 years
141Guyana66.51 years
142Pakistan66.38 years
143Kiribati66.15 years
144Myanmar66.04 years
145Turkmenistan65.74 years
146Tanzania65.49 years
147Madagascar65.48 years
148Namibia64.92 years
149Gabon64.89 years
150Ethiopia64.58 years
151Rwanda64.52 years
152Botswana64.49 years
153Eritrea64.10 years
154Yemen64.03 years
155Malawi63.80 years
156Sudan63.71 years
157Least developed countries63.58 years
158Comoros63.55 years
159Mauritania63.20 years
160Haiti63.07 years
161Congo62.87 years
162Papua New Guinea62.78 years
163Djibouti62.29 years
164Kenya62.13 years
165Niger61.97 years
166Ghana61.49 years
167Liberia61.16 years
168Zambia60.79 years
169Afghanistan60.72 years
170Gambia60.47 years
171Togo60.12 years
172Benin59.72 years
173Guinea59.19 years
174Uganda59.18 years
175Zimbabwe59.16 years
176D.R. Congo59.02 years
177Burkina Faso58.93 years
178Mali58.46 years
179Equatorial Guinea57.96 years
180South Africa57.44 years
181Burundi57.11 years
182South Sudan56.11 years
183Cameroon55.93 years
184Somalia55.69 years
185Guinea-Bissau55.47 years
186Mozambique55.37 years
187Nigeria53.05 years
188Angola52.67 years
189Côte d'Ivoire51.92 years
190Chad51.87 years
191Central African Republic51.42 years
192Sierra Leone51.31 years
193Lesotho49.96 years
194Swaziland48.87 years

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