World Average Human Life Span Expectancy by Country

Author: Disabled World : Contact: www.disabled-world.com

Published: 2009-03-19 : (Rev. 2020-07-02)

Synopsis and Key Points:

How long will I live for is a chart and picture graph of male and female life span expectant averages by country and average age to death.

Period Life Expectancy is defined as the average length of life remaining at a given age - assuming people experience the age-specific death rates of a specific period from the given age onward.

Cohort Life Expectancy is defined as the average length of life remaining at a given age, experienced by people born in the same year.

Main Digest

What is Life Expectancy and Longevity?

Life Expectancy, or longevity, is defined as the expected number of years of life remaining at a given age denoted by ex, which means the average number of subsequent years of life for someone now aged x, according to a particular mortality experience. In modern times, life expectancy has substantially changed on a yearly basis and cannot be used accurately for long-term predictions. The word "longevity" is sometimes used as a synonym for "life expectancy" in demography - however, the term "longevity" is sometimes meant to refer only to especially long lived members of a population, whereas "life expectancy" is always defined statistically as the average number of years remaining at a given age.

Today humans have an average life span of 31.99 years in Swaziland and 82 years in Japan. Our chart (below) shows statistics for the average age you will live based on various world countries.

Difference Between Cohort and Period Life Expectancy

There are two different types of life tables: cohort and period.

Cohort Life Expectancy - The average length of life remaining at a given age, experienced by people born in the same year. For example, cohort life expectancy at age 65 years in 2014 would be worked out using the mortality rate for age 65 years in 2014, for age 66 years in 2015, for age 67 years in 2016 etc.
Period Life Expectancy - The average length of life remaining at a given age - assuming people experience the age-specific death rates of a specific period from the given age onwards. Period life expectancies tend to be lower than cohort life expectancies, because they do not include any assumptions about future improvements in mortality rates.

How Long Will I Live?

This is a question everyone asks at some stage in their life - How long will I live? When will I die?

Life expectancy statistics is based on the average number of years of life remaining at a given age. Life span is the average expected years to live of an individual from birth. Our life statistics chart shows how long males and females can expect to live for in various world countries. (Age in years from birth to death). The oldest confirmed recorded age for any human ever born is 122 years of age, though some people are reported to have lived longer there are no records to confirm these claims.

There are, of course, great variations in life expectancy statistics worldwide, mostly caused by differences in public health, medical care and diet from country to country. Climate also has an effect on what age you will live to, and the way data is collected can also be an important influence.

There are also variations between various groups within single countries. For instance significant differences occur in life span expectancy between males and females in France and many other developed countries, with women tending to outlive men by five years and over. These gender differences have been steadily decreasing in recent years, with statistics showing male life expectancy improving at a faster rate than that of females.

Poverty, in particular, tends to have a very substantial effect on life span expectancy. An example being the United Kingdom life expectancy in many of the wealthiest areas is currently on average ten years longer than the poorer areas and today the gap appears to be increasing as life span expectancy for the more wealthy continues to increase while in poorer regions of the U.K. there has been little increase.

Interestingly persons with serious mental illness tend to die, on average, 25 years earlier than the general public, with three out of five mentally ill dying from mainly preventable physical diseases such as Heart/Cardiovascular disease, Diabetes, Dyslipidaemia, Respiratory ailments, Pneumonia, and Influenza.

Below is an updated list of countries by life expectancy at birth, the average number of years to be lived by a group of people born in the same year (Length of Life). There are currently only 6 countries worldwide where BOTH males and females have a life expectancy over 80 years. These countries are Australia, Iceland, Israel, Italy, Sweden and Switzerland.

You may also be interested in our Calculator Showing Age in Days Weeks Months Since Birth.

Chart of Countries Listed by Average Life Expectancy
Country/territory	Overall	Males	Females
Afghanistan	61	60	62
Albania	78	76	80
Algeria	74	72	77
Andorra	n/a	n/a	n/a
Angola	52	50	53
Antigua and Barbuda	77	74	80
Argentina	77	73	80
Armenia	75	72	78
Australia (Life Expectancy by Australian State and Territory)	82	80	84
Austria	81	78	84
Azerbaijan	74	72	77
Bahamas	74	71	77
Bahrain	76	75	76
Bangladesh	71	70	71
Barbados	75	73	78
Belarus	73	67	78
Belgium	80	78	83
Belize	74	71	77
Benin	59	58	61
Bhutan	68	68	69
Bolivia	67	65	69
Bosnia-Herzegovina	75	72	78
Botswana	64	62	67
Brazil	75	71	79
Brunei	79	77	80
Bulgaria	75	71	78
Burkina Faso	56	56	57
Burundi	59	57	61
Cambodia	64	61	66
Cameroon	57	56	58
Canada (Life Expectancy by Canadian Province and Territory)	81	79	84
Cape Verde	75	71	80
Central African Republic	50	48	52
Chad	51	50	52
Channel Islands	82	80	85
Chile	79	76	81
China	75	73	78
Colombia	75	72	79
Comoros	61	60	62
Congo	58	57	59
Congo, Dem. Rep. of	50	48	52
Costa Rica	79	77	82
Cote d'Ivoire	51	50	52
Croatia	77	74	81
Cuba	78	77	80
Curacao	78	75	81
Cyprus	80	78	82
Czech Republic	79	76	82
Denmark	81	79	83
Djibouti	62	60	63
Dominica	75	72	77
Dominican Republic	73	70	77
Ecuador	75	72	78
Egypt	71	70	73
El Salvador	73	68	77
Equatorial Guinea	57	56	59
Eritrea	63	60	65
Estonia	77	73	81
Ethiopia	64	62	65
Federated States of Micronesia	70	69	72
Fiji	70	67	73
Finland	81	78	84
France	82	79	85
French Guiana	80	77	83
French Polynesia	77	75	79
Gabon	63	62	64
Gambia	59	58	60
Georgia	75	71	79
Germany	80	78	83
Ghana	61	60	63
Greece	81	78	83
Grenada	76	74	79
Guadeloupe	81	78	84
Guam	79	76	82
Guatemala	73	69	76
Guinea	60	58	61
Guinea-Bissau	54	53	56
Guyana	66	64	69
Haiti	64	61	65
Honduras	74	72	76
Hong Kong, SAR	84	81	87
Hungary	76	72	79
Iceland	82	81	84
India (Indian Life Expectancy by States)	68	66	69
Indonesia	71	69	73
Iran	74	72	76
Iraq	69	67	71
Ireland	81	79	83
Israel	82	80	84
Italy	83	80	85
Jamaica	74	70	78
Japan	83	80	87
Jordan	74	73	77
Kazakhstan	70	66	75
Kenya	62	60	65
Kiribati	65	63	68
Korea, North	70	66	74
Korea, South	82	79	85
Kosovo	77	74	79
Kuwait	74	73	76
Kyrgyzstan	70	66	74
Laos	68	67	70
Latvia	74	70	79
Lebanon	77	76	79
Lesotho	44	43	46
Liberia	60	59	61
Libya	71	69	74
Liechtenstein	82	81	84
Lithuania	74	69	79
Luxembourg	82	80	84
Macao, SAR	83	80	86
Macedonia	75	73	77
Madagascar	65	64	66
Malawi	61	60	62
Malaysia	75	73	77
Maldives	74	73	75
Mali	53	53	53
Malta	82	80	84
Marshall Islands	72	70	75
Martinique	82	79	85
Mauritania	63	62	64
Mauritius	74	71	78
Mayotte	79	76	83
Mexico	75	73	78
Moldova	72	68	76
Monaco	n/a	n/a	n/a
Mongolia	69	65	75
Montenegro	77	74	79
Morocco	74	73	75
Mozambique	54	52	56
Myanmar	65	63	67
Namibia	64	62	67
Nauru	66	62	70
Nepal	67	66	69
Netherlands	81	79	83
Netherlands Antilles	-	-	-
New Caledonia	77	74	81
New Zealand	81	80	83
Nicaragua	75	72	78
Niger	60	59	61
Nigeria	52	52	53
Norway	82	80	84
Oman	77	75	79
Pakistan	66	66	67
Palau	72	69	76
Palestinian Territory	73	72	75
Panama	78	75	80
Papua New Guinea	62	60	65
Paraguay	72	70	74
Peru	75	72	78
Philippines	69	65	72
Poland	78	74	82
Portugal	80	77	83
Puerto Rico	79	76	83
Qatar	78	78	79
Reunion	80	77	84
Romania	75	71	78
Russia	71	65	76
Rwanda	65	63	66
Samoa	74	73	76
San Marino	87	84	89
Sao Tome and Principe	66	64	68
Saudi Arabia	74	73	75
Senegal	65	63	67
Serbia	75	73	78
Seychelles	73	69	78
Sierra Leone	50	50	51
Singapore	83	80	85
Slovakia	76	73	80
Slovenia	81	78	84
Solomon Islands	70	67	74
Somalia	55	53	57
South Africa	61	59	63
South Sudan	55	54	56
Spain	83	80	86
Sri Lanka	74	71	77
St. Kitts-Nevis	75	73	78
St. Lucia	79	75	83
St. Vincent & the Grenadines	71	70	74
Sudan	62	60	64
Suriname	71	68	74
Swaziland	49	50	48
Sweden	82	80	84
Switzerland	83	81	85
Syria	70	64	76
Taiwan	80	77	83
Tajikistan	67	64	71
Tanzania	62	60	63
Thailand	75	72	78
Timor-Leste	68	66	69
Togo	57	56	57
Tonga	76	74	77
Trinidad and Tobago	75	71	78
Tunisia	76	74	78
Turkey	77	75	79
Turkmenistan	65	61	70
Tuvalu	70	67	72
Uganda	59	58	60
Ukraine	71	66	76
United Arab Emirates	77	76	78
United Kingdom (Life Expectancy for U.K. Countries and Regions)	81	79	83
United States (Life Expectancy by U.S. State)	79	76	81
Uruguay	77	73	80
Uzbekistan	68	65	72
Vanuatu	71	70	73
Venezuela	75	72	78
Vietnam	73	71	76
Western Sahara	68	66	70
Yemen	65	62	67
Zambia	53	51	56
Zimbabwe	61	60	62

Source: PRB 2014 and 2015 World Population Data Sheets.

As can be seen by the chart there is still a large difference in statistics between average length of life in third world countries than in many Western countries today.

World life expectancy map shaded by ages

Quick Facts:

Various factors contribute to an individual's longevity. Significant factors in life expectancy include gender, genetics, access to health care, hygiene, diet and nutrition, exercise, lifestyle, and crime rates.
In preindustrial times, deaths at young and middle age were more common than they are today, and lifespans past 70 years were comparatively rare.
Studies have estimated that approximately 20 to 30% of an individual's lifespan is related to genetics, the rest is due to individual behaviors and environmental factors which can be modified.
Women normally outlive men, and this was as true in pre-industrial times as today. Theories for this include smaller bodies (and thus less stress on the heart), a stronger immune system (since testosterone acts as an immuno-suppressant), and less tendency to engage in physically dangerous activities.
The U.S. Census Bureau view on the future of longevity is that life expectancy in the United States will be in the mid-80s by 2050 (up from 77.85 in 2006) and will top out eventually in the low 90s, barring major scientific advances that can change the rate of human aging itself, as opposed to merely treating the effects of aging as is done today.

View further information on Longevity and Life Span Expectancy

Statistics

According to U.S. Census Bureau statistics, Andorra currently has the world's longest life expectancy of 83.5 years.

Statistically the average life expectancy of all people in the world is currently 66.26 years (64.3 years for males and 68.35 years for females).

Longest Living Persons Include:

Jeralean Talley (born 1899): the oldest living person in the world.
Sarah Knauss (1880 - 1999, 119 years, 97 days): the second oldest documented person in modern times and the oldest American.
Geert Adriaans Boomgaard (1788 - 1899, 110 years, 135 days): first person to reach the age of 110 (on September 21, 1898) and whose age could be validated.
Jiroemon Kimura (1897-2013): celebrated his 116th birthday in April 2013, was the oldest man in history whose age has been verified by modern documentation, and died on 12 June 2013.
Jeanne Calment (1875 - 1997, 122 years, 164 days): the oldest person in history whose age has been verified by modern documentation. This defines the modern human life span, which is set by the oldest documented individual who ever lived.