Life Expectancy by Country: Who Lives Longest and Why
Global life expectancy averages 73 years, but ranges from 53 to 85 depending on where you are born. Here are the countries at the top, the bottom, and the factors that explain the gap.
The Global Average
A person born today can expect to live approximately 73 years on average, according to the most recent UN World Population Prospects. That figure masks enormous variation. Where you are born remains the single largest determinant of how long you will live.
For detailed country-level data, visit our life expectancy page.
Top 10 Countries by Life Expectancy
These are the countries where people live the longest, based on 2024 estimates:
| Rank | Country | Life Expectancy | |---|---|---| | 1 | Japan | 84.9 years | | 2 | Switzerland | 84.0 years | | 3 | South Korea | 83.7 years | | 4 | Singapore | 83.6 years | | 5 | Spain | 83.5 years | | 6 | Italy | 83.4 years | | 7 | Australia | 83.3 years | | 8 | Iceland | 83.2 years | | 9 | Israel | 83.0 years | | 10 | Sweden | 82.9 years |
Japan has led this table for over two decades. The Japanese diet — rich in fish, vegetables, fermented foods, and low in processed sugar — is frequently cited as a factor, alongside universal healthcare, strong social cohesion, and high physical activity levels among the elderly.
Bottom 10 Countries by Life Expectancy
At the other end of the spectrum:
| Rank | Country | Life Expectancy | |---|---|---| | 1 | Chad | 53.2 years | | 2 | Nigeria | 53.9 years | | 3 | Lesotho | 54.3 years | | 4 | Central African Republic | 54.4 years | | 5 | Sierra Leone | 55.0 years | | 6 | Somalia | 55.3 years | | 7 | South Sudan | 55.5 years | | 8 | Eswatini | 57.1 years | | 9 | Mali | 58.1 years | | 10 | Mozambique | 58.6 years |
All ten are in sub-Saharan Africa. The gap between Japan and Chad — over 31 years — means a child born in Tokyo today can statistically expect to live an additional three decades compared to a child born in N'Djamena.
What Explains the Gap?
Life expectancy is shaped by a combination of factors. No single variable tells the full story, but research consistently points to the same drivers.
1. Healthcare Access
Countries with universal healthcare systems consistently rank higher. Access to primary care, vaccination programmes, maternal health services, and emergency treatment all contribute. Japan, for example, has had universal coverage since 1961.
2. Child Mortality
In low-income countries, high child mortality drags down average life expectancy dramatically. If a country loses 10% of its children before age five, the average is pulled down even if adults who survive childhood live to 70. Reducing child mortality has been the single biggest driver of life expectancy gains globally.
3. Diet and Lifestyle
The Mediterranean diet (high in olive oil, fish, fruits, vegetables) and the traditional Japanese diet are both associated with longer lifespans. Conversely, countries with high rates of processed food consumption, tobacco use, and alcohol abuse tend to have lower life expectancy — even among wealthy nations. The United States, despite its wealth, ranks only 46th globally, partly due to obesity, opioid deaths, and gun violence.
4. Income and Education
Wealthier countries live longer, but the relationship is not linear. Beyond a GDP per capita of roughly $10,000, additional wealth produces diminishing returns on life expectancy. Education — particularly female education — is a stronger predictor than income alone.
5. Conflict and Instability
War, civil conflict, and state collapse destroy healthcare infrastructure and drive spikes in mortality. Several countries in the bottom 10 have experienced prolonged conflict.
6. Infectious Disease Burden
HIV/AIDS reduced life expectancy in southern Africa by over 20 years during the peak of the epidemic in the early 2000s. Antiretroviral treatment has partially reversed this, but the legacy remains. Malaria, tuberculosis, and neglected tropical diseases continue to suppress life expectancy in equatorial Africa.
How Has Life Expectancy Changed Over Time?
The improvement has been extraordinary:
- 1900: Global average approximately 32 years
- 1950: 46 years
- 2000: 67 years
- 2024: 73 years
In just over a century, average human lifespan has more than doubled. The gains have been driven primarily by reductions in child mortality, control of infectious diseases, improved sanitation, and better nutrition.
However, the rate of improvement has slowed in recent decades. In some high-income countries, life expectancy has plateaued or even dipped. The United States saw a decline from 2019 to 2021, driven by COVID-19, drug overdoses, and rising rates of metabolic disease.
The Gender Gap
Women live longer than men in virtually every country on Earth. Globally, female life expectancy is 75.6 years compared to 70.8 years for males — a gap of nearly five years.
The gap is biological (oestrogen appears to be cardioprotective, and having two X chromosomes provides genetic redundancy) and behavioural (men are more likely to smoke, drink heavily, take physical risks, and delay seeking medical care).
In Russia, the gap is an extreme 10 years — women live to 78 on average, men to 68 — largely due to high rates of alcohol consumption and cardiovascular disease among men.
What Comes Next?
Some researchers project that the first person to live to 150 has already been born. Others argue that we are approaching a biological ceiling around 85 to 90 years for average life expectancy.
What is certain is that the gap between rich and poor countries remains the most important — and most solvable — inequality in global health. Closing it does not require medical breakthroughs. It requires clean water, basic vaccines, skilled birth attendants, and functioning primary healthcare.
Explore country-by-country data on our life expectancy page, or see how death rates compare across nations on our country pages.
Sources: UN World Population Prospects (2024), WHO Global Health Observatory, The Lancet (2024), Our World in Data.