World Average Human Life Span Expectancy by Country

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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.

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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.

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.

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Cite Page: Journal: Disabled World. Language: English (U.S.). Author: Disabled World. Electronic Publication Date: 2009-03-19 - Revised: 2020-07-02. Title: World Average Human Life Span Expectancy by Country, Source: <a href=https://www.disabled-world.com/calculators-charts/life-expectancy-statistics.php>World Average Human Life Span Expectancy by Country</a>. Retrieved 2021-07-27, from https://www.disabled-world.com/calculators-charts/life-expectancy-statistics.php - Reference: DW#286-1158.