What is the life expectancy in Afghanistan?

66.0 years at birth for both sexes combined, by the UN's 2024 estimate. Men can expect 64.5 years and women 67.5. The figure describes today's death rates applied across a whole life, so a child born now will probably live longer if mortality keeps falling.

How much longer do women live than men in Afghanistan?

3.0 years. The global figure gap is 5.4 years, so Afghanistan's gap is narrower than usual. Wide gaps usually trace back to male smoking, drinking and accidents; narrow ones to women facing similar risks or poorer maternal health.

How does Afghanistan compare to Hong Kong?

Hong Kong has the highest life expectancy in our data at 85.5 years, 19.5 years more than Afghanistan. For men the difference is 18.3 years, for women 20.6.

How does Afghanistan compare to South Africa?

South Africa ranks 167th at 66.1 years, 0.1 years more than Afghanistan. Men: 62.6 against 64.5. Women: 69.6 against 67.5.

Life expectancy in Afghanistan

People in Afghanistan can expect to live 66.0 years at birth: men 64.5, women 67.5. That puts Afghanistan 168th of 200 countries in our data.

Key numbers

Both sexes

66.0 yrs

Men

64.5 yrs

Women

67.5 yrs

Gender gap

3.0 yrs

women minus men

Rank

168 of 200

vs Hong Kong (best)

-19.5 yrs

vs global figure

-7.2 yrs

73.2 yrs

Afghanistan among its neighbours

Ranking neighbours (three above and below) plus every Asia country in our data
#	Country	Both	Men	Women	Region
1	Hong Kong	85.5	82.8	88.1	Asia
2	Japan	84.7	81.7	87.7	Asia
3	South Korea	84.3	81.2	87.2	Asia
9	Singapore	83.7	81.2	86.2	Asia
15	Macao	83.1	80.8	85.2	Asia
16	United Arab Emirates	82.9	82.0	84.2	Asia
21	Israel	82.4	80.2	84.6	Asia
23	Qatar	82.4	81.6	83.4	Asia
37	Bahrain	81.3	80.7	82.0	Asia
40	Maldives	81.0	79.7	82.8	Asia
42	Taiwan	80.6	77.6	83.6	Asia
43	Kuwait	80.4	79.3	81.8	Asia
44	Oman	80.0	78.5	81.9	Asia
52	Saudi Arabia	78.7	77.1	81.2	Asia
58	China	78.0	75.2	80.9	Asia
61	Jordan	77.8	75.7	80.2	Asia
62	Lebanon	77.8	75.7	79.7	Asia
64	Iran	77.7	75.8	79.6	Asia
66	Sri Lanka	77.5	74.2	80.6	Asia
77	Malaysia	76.7	74.3	79.4	Asia
80	Thailand	76.4	72.2	80.9	Asia
89	Armenia	75.7	71.4	79.5	Asia
91	Brunei	75.3	73.3	77.6	Asia
97	Bangladesh	74.7	73.0	76.4	Asia
99	Vietnam	74.6	69.9	79.3	Asia
100	Georgia	74.5	69.6	79.1	Asia
101	Azerbaijan	74.4	71.6	77.1	Asia
103	Kazakhstan	74.4	70.1	78.4	Asia
107	North Korea	73.6	71.5	75.7	Asia
112	Bhutan	73.0	71.3	75.0	Asia
119	Uzbekistan	72.4	69.5	75.4	Asia
120	Iraq	72.3	70.4	74.1	Asia
122	Syria	72.1	69.8	74.4	Asia
123	India	72.0	70.5	73.6	Asia
124	Tajikistan	71.8	69.6	74.0	Asia
125	Kyrgyzstan	71.7	68.2	75.2	Asia
126	Mongolia	71.7	67.2	76.4	Asia
134	Indonesia	71.1	69.0	73.3	Asia
135	Cambodia	70.7	68.0	73.2	Asia
137	Nepal	70.4	68.8	71.8	Asia
139	Turkmenistan	70.1	66.9	72.8	Asia
140	Philippines	69.8	66.9	72.8	Asia
143	Yemen	69.3	67.2	71.4	Asia
145	Laos	69.0	66.8	71.3	Asia
153	Timor-Leste	67.7	66.1	69.4	Asia
154	Pakistan	67.6	65.3	70.2	Asia
161	Myanmar	66.9	63.8	70.2	Asia
165	Zambia	66.3	63.9	68.7	Africa
166	Papua New Guinea	66.1	63.7	69.1	Oceania
167	South Africa	66.1	62.6	69.6	Africa
168	Afghanistan	66.0	64.5	67.5	Asia
169	Djibouti	66.0	63.5	68.5	Africa
170	Gambia	65.9	64.2	67.5	Africa
171	Republic of the Congo	65.8	64.1	67.5	Africa
173	Palestine	65.2	59.7	71.5	Asia

Rough years remaining by age

Life expectancy at birth minus current age. A rough guide only, see note.
Age	Men	Women
20	44.5	47.5
30	34.5	37.5
40	24.5	27.5
50	14.5	17.5
60	4.5	7.5

This is a rough approximation. We do not have life tables for Afghanistan, so we subtract age from life expectancy at birth. Real remaining life expectancy is higher, especially at 50 and 60, because someone who has reached that age has already survived the risks of childhood and young adulthood. In high-income countries a 60-year-old typically has 4 to 6 more years than this table shows.

In plain language

A child born in Afghanistan today, if death rates at every age stayed exactly as they are, would live 66.0 years on average. Girls would get 3.0 more years than boys. That places Afghanistan 168th of the 200 countries we track, 7.2 years below the global figure of 73.2.

The gap to Hong Kong, the best in our data, is 19.5 years. Most of that difference comes from deaths before 60, not from how long the oldest people live.

Questions

What is the life expectancy in Afghanistan?: 66.0 years at birth for both sexes combined, by the UN's 2024 estimate. Men can expect 64.5 years and women 67.5. The figure describes today's death rates applied across a whole life, so a child born now will probably live longer if mortality keeps falling.
How much longer do women live than men in Afghanistan?: 3.0 years. The global figure gap is 5.4 years, so Afghanistan's gap is narrower than usual. Wide gaps usually trace back to male smoking, drinking and accidents; narrow ones to women facing similar risks or poorer maternal health.
How does Afghanistan compare to Hong Kong?: Hong Kong has the highest life expectancy in our data at 85.5 years, 19.5 years more than Afghanistan. For men the difference is 18.3 years, for women 20.6.
How does Afghanistan compare to South Africa?: South Africa ranks 167th at 66.1 years, 0.1 years more than Afghanistan. Men: 62.6 against 64.5. Women: 69.6 against 67.5.

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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🇦🇫Life expectancy in Afghanistan