Which country has the highest life expectancy?

Hong Kong, at 85.5 years (men 82.8, women 88.1). Japan and South Korea follow at 84.7 and 84.3. Of the 200 countries we cover; in the full UN list Hong Kong and Monaco are marginally higher still.

Which country on this list has the lowest life expectancy?

Nigeria, at 54.5 years, 31.0 years behind Hong Kong. Chad is next at 55.1. Most of the difference is child and young-adult mortality, not old age: in countries with high life expectancy almost everyone reaches 60, and the averages reflect that.

Why do women live longer than men?

In every country here women outlive men, by 0.4 years in Togo up to 13.3 years in Ukraine. Part of it is biology (a second X chromosome, oestrogen's effect on the heart). The larger and more variable part is behaviour and risk: smoking, drinking, road deaths, violence and dangerous jobs all skew male. Countries with the widest gaps tend to have a history of heavy male smoking and drinking.

Life expectancy by country

The global figure for life expectancy at birth is 73.2 years: 70.5 for men and 75.9 for women. Across the 200 countries in our data, it runs from 85.5 years in Hong Kong to 54.5 in Nigeria, a gap of 31.0 years. Women outlive men everywhere on the list.

200 countries, ranked by combined life expectancy

#	Country	Both	Men	Women	Gap
1	Hong Kong	85.5	82.8	88.1	5.3
2	Japan	84.7	81.7	87.7	6.0
3	South Korea	84.3	81.2	87.2	6.0
4	French Polynesia	84.1	81.8	86.5	4.7
5	Switzerland	84.0	82.0	85.8	3.8
6	Australia	83.9	82.1	85.7	3.6
7	Spain	83.7	81.0	86.3	5.3
8	Italy	83.7	81.6	85.7	4.1
9	Singapore	83.7	81.2	86.2	5.0
10	Réunion	83.5	80.5	86.3	5.8
11	France	83.3	80.4	86.1	5.7
12	Malta	83.3	81.3	85.3	4.0
13	Norway	83.3	81.7	84.8	3.1
14	Sweden	83.3	81.4	85.1	3.7
15	Macao	83.1	80.8	85.2	4.4
16	United Arab Emirates	82.9	82.0	84.2	2.2
17	Iceland	82.7	81.0	84.5	3.5
18	Canada	82.6	80.4	84.8	4.4
19	Martinique	82.6	79.3	85.6	6.3
20	Ireland	82.4	80.4	84.5	4.1
21	Israel	82.4	80.2	84.6	4.4
22	Portugal	82.4	79.4	85.1	5.7
23	Qatar	82.4	81.6	83.4	1.8
24	Luxembourg	82.2	80.6	83.8	3.2
25	Netherlands	82.2	80.5	83.7	3.2
26	Belgium	82.1	79.9	84.3	4.4
27	Guadeloupe	82.1	78.1	85.5	7.4
28	New Zealand	82.1	80.4	83.8	3.4
29	Austria	82.0	79.5	84.3	4.8
30	Denmark	81.9	80.0	83.9	3.9
31	Finland	81.9	79.2	84.7	5.5
32	Greece	81.9	79.3	84.3	5.0
33	Puerto Rico	81.7	78.0	85.2	7.2
34	Cyprus	81.6	79.6	83.7	4.1
35	Slovenia	81.6	78.9	84.3	5.4
36	Germany	81.4	79.0	83.8	4.8
37	Bahrain	81.3	80.7	82.0	1.3
38	United Kingdom	81.3	79.4	83.2	3.8
39	Chile	81.2	79.2	83.1	3.9
40	Maldives	81.0	79.7	82.8	3.1
41	Costa Rica	80.8	78.1	83.4	5.3
42	Taiwan	80.6	77.6	83.6	6.0
43	Kuwait	80.4	79.3	81.8	2.5
44	Oman	80.0	78.5	81.9	3.4
45	Czechia	79.8	77.0	82.6	5.6
46	Jersey	79.7	77.7	81.8	4.1
47	Albania	79.6	77.7	81.4	3.7
48	Panama	79.6	76.7	82.6	5.9
49	United States	79.3	76.9	81.8	4.9
50	Estonia	79.2	74.9	83.0	8.1
51	New Caledonia	78.8	76.3	81.3	5.0
52	Saudi Arabia	78.7	77.1	81.2	4.1
53	Croatia	78.6	75.4	81.7	6.3
54	Poland	78.6	74.9	82.4	7.5
55	Slovakia	78.3	75.0	81.6	6.6
56	Cuba	78.1	75.7	80.5	4.8
57	Uruguay	78.1	74.2	81.9	7.7
58	China	78.0	75.2	80.9	5.7
59	Kosovo	78.0	75.8	80.1	4.3
60	Bosnia and Herzegovina	77.9	74.4	80.9	6.5
61	Jordan	77.8	75.7	80.2	4.5
62	Lebanon	77.8	75.7	79.7	4.0
63	Colombia	77.7	75.0	80.5	5.5
64	Iran	77.7	75.8	79.6	3.8
65	Peru	77.7	75.4	80.1	4.7
66	Sri Lanka	77.5	74.2	80.6	6.4
67	Argentina	77.4	74.8	79.9	5.1
68	Ecuador	77.4	74.7	80.1	5.4
69	North Macedonia	77.4	75.1	79.6	4.5
70	Guam	77.2	73.4	81.4	8.0
71	Turkey	77.2	74.5	79.9	5.4
72	Montenegro	77.1	73.7	80.3	6.6
73	French Guiana	77.0	74.1	80.0	5.9
74	Hungary	77.0	73.7	80.2	6.5
75	Curaçao	76.8	72.5	80.8	8.3
76	Serbia	76.8	73.5	80.0	6.5
77	Malaysia	76.7	74.3	79.4	5.1
78	Tunisia	76.5	73.9	79.1	5.2
79	Aruba	76.4	73.7	78.8	5.1
80	Thailand	76.4	72.2	80.9	8.7
81	Algeria	76.3	74.9	77.7	2.8
82	Barbados	76.2	73.6	78.6	5.0
83	Latvia	76.2	71.6	80.5	8.9
84	Cabo Verde	76.1	72.9	79.2	6.3
85	Mayotte	76.1	74.1	78.3	4.2
86	Lithuania	76.0	71.2	80.7	9.5
87	Romania	75.9	72.4	79.6	7.2
88	Brazil	75.8	72.8	79.0	6.2
89	Armenia	75.7	71.4	79.5	8.1
90	Bulgaria	75.6	72.2	79.2	7.0
91	Brunei	75.3	73.3	77.6	4.3
92	Morocco	75.3	73.2	77.6	4.4
93	Grenada	75.2	72.4	78.4	6.0
94	Mexico	75.1	72.2	77.8	5.6
95	Mauritius	74.9	71.9	78.2	6.3
96	Nicaragua	74.9	72.3	77.4	5.1
97	Bangladesh	74.7	73.0	76.4	3.4
98	Bahamas	74.6	70.9	78.2	7.3
99	Vietnam	74.6	69.9	79.3	9.4
100	Georgia	74.5	69.6	79.1	9.5
101	Azerbaijan	74.4	71.6	77.1	5.5
102	Belarus	74.4	69.5	79.1	9.6
103	Kazakhstan	74.4	70.1	78.4	8.3
104	Paraguay	73.8	70.9	77.0	6.1
105	Dominican Republic	73.7	70.5	77.0	6.5
106	Belize	73.6	70.9	76.5	5.6
107	North Korea	73.6	71.5	75.7	4.2
108	Suriname	73.6	70.5	76.8	6.3
109	Trinidad and Tobago	73.5	70.4	76.7	6.3
110	Ukraine	73.4	66.9	80.2	13.3
111	Russia	73.2	67.3	79.0	11.7
112	Bhutan	73.0	71.3	75.0	3.7
113	Honduras	72.9	70.3	75.5	5.2
114	Seychelles	72.9	69.9	76.5	6.6
115	Tonga	72.9	69.4	76.4	7.0
116	Saint Lucia	72.7	69.3	76.3	7.0
117	Guatemala	72.6	70.3	74.9	4.6
118	Venezuela	72.5	68.7	76.5	7.8
119	Uzbekistan	72.4	69.5	75.4	5.9
120	Iraq	72.3	70.4	74.1	3.7
121	El Salvador	72.1	67.5	76.3	8.8
122	Syria	72.1	69.8	74.4	4.6
123	India	72.0	70.5	73.6	3.1
124	Tajikistan	71.8	69.6	74.0	4.4
125	Kyrgyzstan	71.7	68.2	75.2	7.0
126	Mongolia	71.7	67.2	76.4	9.2
127	Samoa	71.7	69.9	73.7	3.8
128	Egypt	71.6	69.5	73.8	4.3
129	Jamaica	71.5	69.0	74.0	5.0
130	Vanuatu	71.5	69.4	73.9	4.5
131	Western Sahara	71.4	69.7	73.5	3.8
132	Moldova	71.2	66.6	75.5	8.9
133	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	71.2	68.7	74.3	5.6
134	Indonesia	71.1	69.0	73.3	4.3
135	Cambodia	70.7	68.0	73.2	5.2
136	Solomon Islands	70.5	69.2	72.0	2.8
137	Nepal	70.4	68.8	71.8	3.0
138	Guyana	70.2	66.5	73.9	7.4
139	Turkmenistan	70.1	66.9	72.8	5.9
140	Philippines	69.8	66.9	72.8	5.9
141	Sao Tome and Principe	69.7	66.2	73.7	7.5
142	Libya	69.3	68.3	70.4	2.1
143	Yemen	69.3	67.2	71.4	4.2
144	Botswana	69.2	66.7	71.7	5.0
145	Laos	69.0	66.8	71.3	4.5
146	Senegal	68.7	66.8	70.8	4.0
147	Bolivia	68.6	66.1	71.1	5.0
148	Eritrea	68.6	66.5	70.7	4.2
149	Mauritania	68.5	66.5	70.5	4.0
150	Gabon	68.3	65.9	71.1	5.2
151	Uganda	68.3	65.3	71.1	5.8
152	Rwanda	67.8	65.5	69.9	4.4
153	Timor-Leste	67.7	66.1	69.4	3.3
154	Pakistan	67.6	65.3	70.2	4.9
155	Malawi	67.4	64.1	70.6	6.5
156	Namibia	67.4	63.3	71.3	8.0
157	Ethiopia	67.3	64.1	70.7	6.6
158	Fiji	67.3	65.3	69.4	4.1
159	Micronesia	67.2	63.5	71.1	7.6
160	Tanzania	67.0	64.2	69.8	5.6
161	Myanmar	66.9	63.8	70.2	6.4
162	Comoros	66.8	64.8	68.9	4.1
163	Kiribati	66.5	64.6	68.2	3.6
164	Sudan	66.3	63.3	69.6	6.3
165	Zambia	66.3	63.9	68.7	4.8
166	Papua New Guinea	66.1	63.7	69.1	5.4
167	South Africa	66.1	62.6	69.6	7.0
168	Afghanistan	66.0	64.5	67.5	3.0
169	Djibouti	66.0	63.5	68.5	5.0
170	Gambia	65.9	64.2	67.5	3.3
171	Republic of the Congo	65.8	64.1	67.5	3.4
172	Ghana	65.5	63.1	67.9	4.8
173	Palestine	65.2	59.7	71.5	11.8
174	Haiti	64.9	61.7	68.3	6.6
175	Angola	64.6	62.1	67.1	5.0
176	Guinea-Bissau	64.1	61.7	66.4	4.7
177	Eswatini	64.1	61.2	67.0	5.8
178	Burundi	63.7	61.6	65.7	4.1
179	Cameroon	63.7	61.5	65.9	4.4
180	Equatorial Guinea	63.7	62.0	65.7	3.7
181	Kenya	63.6	61.5	65.9	4.4
182	Madagascar	63.6	61.9	65.4	3.5
183	Mozambique	63.6	60.3	66.5	6.2
184	Zimbabwe	62.8	60.2	65.0	4.8
185	Togo	62.7	62.5	62.9	0.4
186	Liberia	62.2	60.9	63.4	2.5
187	DR Congo	61.9	59.8	64.0	4.2
188	Côte d'Ivoire	61.9	60.0	64.1	4.1
189	Sierra Leone	61.8	60.1	63.5	3.4
190	Niger	61.2	60.3	62.1	1.8
191	Burkina Faso	61.1	58.9	63.2	4.3
192	Benin	60.8	59.3	62.2	2.9
193	Guinea	60.7	59.5	61.9	2.4
194	Mali	60.4	59.0	61.9	2.9
195	Somalia	58.8	56.3	61.4	5.1
196	South Sudan	57.6	54.6	60.6	6.0
197	Central African Republic	57.4	55.3	59.3	4.0
198	Lesotho	57.4	54.6	60.0	5.4
199	Chad	55.1	53.2	57.0	3.8
200	Nigeria	54.5	54.2	54.7	0.5

Years at birth, 2024 estimates. "Gap" is women minus men. Click a country for rough years remaining at 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60.

How to read this

Life expectancy at birth is the number of years a newborn would live if today's death rates at every age stayed fixed for their whole life. It is a summary of this year's mortality, not a forecast. Death rates have fallen for two centuries, so a child born today will probably live longer than the figure shown.

Figures are the 2023 estimates from the United Nations World Population Prospects 2024, the standard reference for comparing countries. National statistics offices sometimes publish slightly different numbers for the same year.

A low national figure does not mean adults die young. It mostly means more children and young adults die. Someone who reaches 60 in Nigeriacan expect many more years than the headline number suggests, which is why the country pages label their "years remaining" table as rough.

Questions

Which country has the highest life expectancy?: Hong Kong, at 85.5 years (men 82.8, women 88.1). Japan and South Korea follow at 84.7 and 84.3. Of the 200 countries we cover; in the full UN list Hong Kong and Monaco are marginally higher still.
Which country on this list has the lowest life expectancy?: Nigeria, at 54.5 years, 31.0 years behind Hong Kong. Chad is next at 55.1. Most of the difference is child and young-adult mortality, not old age: in countries with high life expectancy almost everyone reaches 60, and the averages reflect that.
Why do women live longer than men?: In every country here women outlive men, by 0.4 years in Togo up to 13.3 years in Ukraine. Part of it is biology (a second X chromosome, oestrogen's effect on the heart). The larger and more variable part is behaviour and risk: smoking, drinking, road deaths, violence and dangerous jobs all skew male. Countries with the widest gaps tend to have a history of heavy male smoking and drinking.

Source: United Nations, World Population Prospects 2024, estimates for 2023. Percentiles on this page are our estimate from a normal distribution with the stated mean and SD.

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