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List of countries by life expectancy

Related subjects: Geography

About this schools Wikipedia selection

SOS Children, an education charity, organised this selection. SOS Children is the world's largest charity giving orphaned and abandoned children the chance of family life.

CIA World Factbook 2007 Estimates for Life Expectancy at birth (years).
  over 80
  77.5-80.0
  75.0-77.5
  72.5-75.0
  70.0-72.5
  67.5-70.0
  65.0-67.5
  60-65
  55-60
  50-55
  45-50
  40-45
  under 40
  not available

This is a 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, if mortality at each age remains constant in the future. The entry includes total population as well as the male and female components. Several non-sovereign entities are also included in this list. Figures are from the 2008 CIA World Factbook and from the 2006 revision of the United Nations World Population Prospects report, for the period 2005-2010 . Only countries/territories with a population of 100,000 or more in 2007 are included in the United Nations list.

The life expectancy (both sexes, at birth) of the world is 65.82 years (63.89 years for males and 67.84 years for females) for 2007 according to CIA World Factbook 2008 and 67.2 years (65.0 years for males and 69.5 years for females) for 2005-2010 according to United Nations World Population Prospects 2006. Life expectancy ranges from 83.52 years in Andorra to 32.23 years in Swaziland. Many of the countries with the lowest life expectancies, namely Swaziland, Botswana, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Namibia, Zambia, Malawi, Central African Republic, Mozambique and Guinea-Bissau, are suffering from very high rates of HIV/AIDS infection, with adult prevalence rates ranging from 10 to 38.8 percent . Also note that in countries with high infant mortality rates, the life expectancy at birth will be lower and may not reflect the life expectancy a person who has survived his/her first year of life would have.

List by the CIA World Factbook (2007 estimates)

Rank by
UN member
state
Rank by
entity
Entity Overall life expectancy at birth Male life expectancy at birth Female life expectancy at birth
1 1  Andorra 83.52 80.62 86.23
2  Macau ( PRC) 82.27 79.44 85.25
2 3  Japan 82.02 78.67 85.56
3 4  San Marino 81.8 78.33 85.57
3 4  Singapore 81.8 79.21 84.59
6  Hong Kong ( PRC) 81.68 78.99 84.6
7  Gibraltar ( UK) 80.9 78.5 83.3
5 8  Sweden 80.63 78.39 83
6 9  Australia 80.62 77.8 83.59
6 10  Switzerland 80.62 77.75 83.63
8 11  France ( metropolitan) 80.59 77.35 84
12  Guernsey ( UK) 80.53 77.53 83.64
9 13  Iceland 80.43 78.33 82.62
10 14  Canada 80.34 76.98 83.86
15  Cayman Islands ( UK) 80.2 77.57 82.87
11 16  Italy 79.94 77.01 83.07
12 17  Monaco 79.82 75.99 83.85
13 18  Liechtenstein 79.81 76.24 83.4
14 19  Spain 79.78 76.46 83.32
14 19  Norway 79.78 76.46 83.32
14 19  Israel 79.78 76.46 83.32
22  Jersey ( UK) 79.51 77.02 82.2
23  Faroe Islands ( Denmark) 79.49 76.06 82.93
17 24  Greece 79.38 76.85 82.06
18 25  Austria 79.21 76.32 82.26
26  U.S. Virgin Islands ( US) 79.2 75.4 83.22
19 27  Malta 79.15 76.95 81.47
20 28  Netherlands 79.11 76.52 81.82
21 29  Luxembourg 79.03 75.76 82.52
30  Montserrat ( UK) 79 76.8 81.31
22 31  New Zealand 78.96 75.97 82.08
23 32  Germany 78.95 75.96 82.11
24 33  Belgium 78.92 75.75 82.24
34  Guam ( US) 78.76 75.69 82.01
34   Saint Pierre and Miquelon ( France) 78.76 76.41 81.23
25 36  United Kingdom 78.7 76.23 81.3
36  European Union 78.7 75.6 82
26 38  Finland 78.66 75.15 82.31
39  Isle of Man ( UK) 78.64 75.3 82.17
27 40  Jordan 78.55 76.04 81.22
41  Puerto Rico ( US) 78.54 74.6 82.67
28 42  Bosnia and Herzegovina 78.17 74.57 82.03
43  Bermuda ( UK) 78.13 76 80.29
44  Saint Helena ( UK) 78.09 75.19 81.15
29 45  United States 78.06 75.15 80.97
30 46  Cyprus 77.98 75.6 80.49
31 47  Denmark 77.96 75.65 80.41
32 48  Ireland 77.9 75.27 80.7
33 49  Portugal 77.87 74.6 81.36
34 50  Albania 77.6 74.95 80.53
51  Taiwan 77.56 74.65 80.74
52  Anguilla ( UK) 77.46 74.53 80.49
35 53  Kuwait 77.36 76.25 78.52
36 54  South Korea 77.23 73.81 80.93
37 55  Costa Rica 77.21 74.61 79.94
38 56  Cuba 77.08 74.85 79.43
39 57  Chile 76.96 73.69 80.4
40 58  Libya 76.88 74.64 79.23
59  British Virgin Islands ( UK) 76.86 75.71 78.07
41 60  Ecuador 76.62 73.74 79.63
42 61  Slovenia 76.53 72.84 80.47
43 62  Czech Republic 76.42 73.14 79.88
44 63  Argentina 76.32 72.6 80.24
64  French Polynesia ( France) 76.31 73.88 78.86
45 65  Georgia 76.3 73 80.07
66  Northern Mariana Islands
( US)
76.29 73.7 79.05
67  American Samoa ( US) 76.25 72.69 80.02
68  Netherlands Antilles ( Netherlands) 76.24 73.96 78.65
46 69  Uruguay 75.93 72.68 79.3
47 70  Saudi Arabia 75.88 73.85 78.02
48 71  United Arab Emirates 75.69 73.16 78.35
49 72  Mexico 75.63 72.84 78.56
50 73  Paraguay 75.34 72.78 78.02
50 73  Tunisia 75.34 73.6 77.21
52 75  Brunei 75.3 73.12 77.59
53 76  Panama 75.19 72.69 77.8
53 76  Poland 75.19 71.18 79.44
55 78  Dominica 75.1 72.17 78.18
56 79  Serbia 75.06 72.49 77.86
57 80  Slovakia 74.95 71 79.11
80  Turks and Caicos Islands
( UK)
74.95 72.69 77.32
58 82  Croatia 74.9 71.26 78.75
83  Aruba ( Netherlands) 74.83 71.8 77.91
59 84  Sri Lanka 74.8 72.81 76.88
60 85  Bahrain 74.68 72.18 77.25
86  New Caledonia ( France) 74.5 71.52 77.63
61 87  Lithuania 74.44 69.46 79.69
62 88  Macedonia 74.21 71.73 76.88
63 89  Qatar 74.14 71.6 76.82
64 90  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 74.09 72.21 76.04
65 91  Saint Lucia 74.08 70.53 77.88
66 92  Oman 73.62 71.37 75.99
67 93  Algeria 73.52 71.91 75.21
94 West Bank 73.46 71.68 75.35
68 95  Venezuela 73.28 70.24 76.48
69 96  Suriname 73.23 70.52 76.12
70 97  Solomon Islands 73.16 70.64 75.81
71 98  Lebanon 73.15 70.67 75.77
72 99  Jamaica 73.12 71.43 74.9
73 100  Dominican Republic 73.07 71.34 74.87
74 101  Barbados 73 71.02 75.01
75 102  Hungary 72.92 68.73 77.38
76 103  Mauritius 72.88 68.92 76.9
76 103  Turkey 72.88 70.43 75.46
76 103  People's Republic of China ( mainland) 72.88 71.13 74.82
79 106  Malaysia 72.76 70.05 75.65
80 107  Saint Kitts and Nevis 72.66 69.81 75.69
81 108  Bulgaria 72.57 68.95 76.4
82 109  Thailand 72.55 70.24 74.98
83 110  Antigua and Barbuda 72.42 70.03 74.94
84 111  Seychelles 72.34 66.98 77.86
85 112  Estonia 72.3 66.87 78.07
86 113  Colombia 72.27 68.44 76.24
87 114  Brazil 72.24 68.3 76.38
115 Gaza Strip 72.16 70.84 73.54
88 116  Armenia 72.12 68.52 76.29
89 117  North Korea 71.92 69.18 74.8
90 118  Romania 71.91 68.41 75.62
91 119  El Salvador 71.78 68.18 75.57
92 120  Latvia 71.6 66.39 77.1
93 121  Egypt 71.57 69.04 74.22
94 122  Samoa 71.3 68.49 74.26
95 123  Morocco 71.22 68.88 73.67
96 124  Vietnam 71.07 68.27 74.08
97 125  Cape Verde 71.02 67.69 74.44
98 126  Nicaragua 70.92 68.82 73.13
99 127  Palau 70.71 67.54 74.06
100 128  Syria 70.61 69.27 72.02
100 128  Marshall Islands 70.61 68.61 72.71
102 130  Iran 70.56 69.12 72.07
103 131  Philippines 70.51 67.61 73.55
104 132  Federated States of Micronesia 70.35 68.52 72.28
133  Greenland ( Denmark) 70.23 66.65 73.9
105 134  Moldova 70.2 66.51 74.11
106 135  Indonesia 70.16 67.69 72.76
107 136  Peru 70.14 68.33 72.04
108 137  Fiji 70.12 67.6 72.76
108 137  Tonga 70.12 67.6 72.76
110 139  Belarus 70.05 64.31 76.14
111 140  Guatemala 69.69 67.94 71.52
112 141  Honduras 69.35 67.78 70.99
113 142  Iraq 69.31 68.04 70.65
114 143  Kyrgyzstan 68.81 64.8 73.02
115 144  Tuvalu 68.63 66.38 70.99
116 145  India 68.59 66.28 71.17
117 146  Turkmenistan 68.3 65.23 71.54
118 147  Belize 68.25 66.44 70.16
119 148  Ukraine 67.88 62.16 73.96
120 149   Sao Tome and Principe 67.64 66.03 69.3
121 150  Kazakhstan 67.22 61.9 72.84
122 151  Mongolia 66.99 64.61 69.48
123 152  Trinidad and Tobago 66.85 65.87 67.87
124 153  East Timor 66.6 64.28 69.04
125 154  Bolivia 66.19 63.53 68.97
126 155  Guyana 66.17 63.52 68.95
127 156  Azerbaijan 65.96 61.86 70.66
128 157  Russia 65.87 59.12 73.03
129 158  The Bahamas 65.66 62.37 69.02
130 159  Papua New Guinea 65.62 63.41 67.95
131 160  Grenada 65.21 63.38 67.05
132 161  Uzbekistan 64.98 61.57 68.56
133 162  Maldives 64.76 63.41 66.19
134 163  Tajikistan 64.61 61.6 67.78
135 164  Pakistan 63.75 62.73 64.83
136 165  Nauru 63.44 59.85 67.21
137 166  Vanuatu 63.22 61.67 64.84
138 167  Bangladesh 62.84 62.81 62.86
139 168  Comoros 62.73 60.37 65.15
140 169  Yemen 62.52 60.61 64.54
141 170  Burma 62.49 60.29 64.83
142 171  Kiribati 62.45 59.41 65.63
172   Mayotte ( France) 62.16 59.94 64.45
143 173  Madagascar 62.14 60.23 64.1
144 174  Cambodia 61.29 59.27 63.4
145 175  Nepal 60.56 60.78 60.33
146 176  Eritrea 59.55 57.88 61.28
147 177  Ghana 59.12 58.31 59.95
148 178  Togo 57.86 55.81 59.96
149 179  Democratic Republic of the Congo 57.2 54.97 59.5
150 180  Haiti 57.03 55.35 58.75
151 181  Senegal 56.69 55.34 58.09
152 182  Laos 55.89 53.82 58.04
153 183  Kenya 55.31 55.24 55.37
154 184  Bhutan 55.17 55.38 54.96
155 185  The Gambia 54.54 52.68 56.46
156 186  Gabon 53.99 52.85 55.17
157 187  Mauritania 53.51 51.24 55.85
158 188  Benin 53.44 52.28 54.63
159 189  Republic of the Congo 53.29 52.1 54.52
160 190  Cameroon 52.86 52.15 53.59
161 191  Uganda 51.75 50.78 52.73
162 192  Burundi 51.29 50.48 52.12
163 193  Tanzania 50.71 49.41 52.04
164 194  Botswana 50.58 51.55 49.58
165 195  Guinea 49.65 48.5 50.84
166 196  Equatorial Guinea 49.51 48.11 50.95
166 196  Mali 49.51 47.6 51.46
168 198  Ethiopia 49.23 48.06 50.44
169 199  Burkina Faso 49.21 47.68 50.8
170 200  Sudan 49.11 48.24 50.03
171 201  Côte d'Ivoire 49 46.43 51.66
172 202  Rwanda 48.99 47.87 50.16
173 203  Somalia 48.84 47.06 50.69
174 204  Nigeria 47.44 46.83 48.07
175 205  Chad 47.2 46.17 48.27
176 206  Guinea-Bissau 47.18 45.37 49.04
177 207  Niger 44.03 44.05 44
178 208  Afghanistan 43.77 43.6 43.96
179 209  Central African Republic 43.74 43.69 43.79
180 210  Djibouti 43.25 41.88 44.65
181 211  Namibia 43.11 44.39 41.79
182 212  Malawi 42.98 43.35 42.61
183 213  South Africa 42.45 43.21 41.66
184 214  Mozambique 40.9 41.4 40.4
185 215  Sierra Leone 40.58 38.36 42.87
186 216  Liberia 40.39 38.93 41.89
187 217  Lesotho 39.97 40.73 39.18
188 218  Zimbabwe 39.5 40.62 38.35
189 219  Zambia 38.44 38.34 38.54
190 220  Angola 37.63 36.73 38.57
191 221  Swaziland 32.23 31.84 32.62
World Average 65.82 63.89 67.84
UN World Population Prospects - The 2006 Revision: 2005-2010 Life Expectancy at birth (years).
  over 80
  77.5-80.0
  75.0-77.5
  72.5-75.0
  70.0-72.5
  67.5-70.0
  65.0-67.5
  60-65
  55-60
  50-55
  45-50
  under 45
  not available

List by the United Nations (average for the 2005-2010 period)

Rank Country/territory Life expectancy at birth (years)
Overall Male Female
World average 67.2 65.0 69.5
1  Japan 82.6 79.0 86.1
2  Hong Kong SAR ( PRC) 82.2 79.4 85.1
3  Iceland 81.8 80.2 83.3
4  Switzerland 81.7 79.0 84.2
5  Australia 81.2 78.9 83.6
6  Spain 80.9 77.7 84.2
7  Sweden 80.9 78.7 83.0
8  Israel 80.7 78.5 82.8
9  Macau SAR ( PRC) 80.7 78.5 82.8
10  France ( metropolitan) 80.7 77.1 84.1
11  Canada 80.7 78.3 82.9
12  Italy (20% above world average) 80.5 77.5 83.5
13  New Zealand 80.2 78.2 82.2
14  Norway 80.2 77.8 82.5
15  Singapore 80.0 78.0 81.9
16  Austria 79.8 76.9 82.6
17  Netherlands 79.8 77.5 81.9
18  Martinique ( France) 79.5 76.5 82.3
19  Greece 79.5 77.1 81.9
20  Belgium 79.4 76.5 82.3
21  Malta 79.4 77.3 81.3
22  United Kingdom 79.4 77.2 81.6
23  Germany 79.4 76.5 82.1
24  U.S. Virgin Islands ( US) 79.4 75.5 83.3
25  Finland 79.3 76.1 82.4
26  Guadeloupe ( France) 79.2 76.0 82.2
27 Channel Islands ( Jersey and  Guernsey) ( UK) 79.0 76.6 81.5
28  Cyprus 79.0 76.5 81.6
29  Ireland 78.9 76.5 81.3
30  Costa Rica 78.8 76.5 81.2
31  Puerto Rico ( US) 78.7 74.7 82.7
32  Luxembourg 78.7 75.7 81.6
33  United Arab Emirates 78.7 77.2 81.5
34  South Korea 78.6 75.0 82.2
35  Chile 78.6 75.5 81.5
36  Denmark 78.3 76.0 80.6
37  Cuba 78.3 76.2 80.4
38  United States 78.2 75.6 80.8
39  Portugal 78.1 75.0 81.2
40  Slovenia 77.9 74.1 81.5
41  Kuwait 77.6 76.0 79.9
42  Barbados 77.3 74.4 79.8
43  Brunei 77.1 75.0 79.7
44  Czech Republic 76.5 73.4 79.5
45   Réunion ( France) 76.4 72.3 80.5
46  Albania 76.4 73.4 79.7
47  Uruguay 76.4 72.8 79.9
48  Mexico 76.2 73.7 78.6
49  Belize 76.1 73.3 79.2
50  New Caledonia ( France) 76.1 72.8 79.7
51  French Guiana ( France) 75.9 72.5 79.9
52  Croatia 75.7 72.3 79.2
53  Oman 75.6 74.2 77.5
54  Bahrain 75.6 74.3 77.5
55  Qatar 75.6 75.2 76.4
56  Poland 75.6 71.3 79.8
57  Panama 75.5 73.0 78.2
58  Guam (United States) 75.5 73.3 77.9
59  Argentina 75.3 71.6 79.1
60  Netherlands Antilles ( Netherlands) 75.1 71.3 78.8
61  Ecuador 75.0 72.1 78.0
62  Bosnia and Herzegovina 74.9 72.2 77.4
63  Slovakia 74.7 70.7 78.5
64  Montenegro 74.5 72.4 76.8
65  Vietnam 74.2 72.3 76.2
66  Malaysia 74.2 72.0 76.7
67  Aruba ( Netherlands) 74.2 71.3 77.1
68  Republic of Macedonia 74.2 71.8 76.6
69  Syria 74.1 72.3 76.1
70  French Polynesia ( France) 74.1 71.7 76.8
71  Serbia 74.0 71.7 76.3
72  Libya 74.0 71.7 76.9
73  Tunisia (10% above world average) 73.9 71.9 76.0
74  Venezuela 73.7 70.9 76.8
75  Saint Lucia 73.7 71.8 75.6
76  Bahamas 73.5 70.6 76.3
77  Palestinian territories 73.4 71.8 75.0
78  Hungary 73.3 69.2 77.4
79  Tonga 73.3 72.3 74.3
80  Bulgaria 73.0 69.5 76.7
81  Lithuania 73.0 67.5 78.3
82  People's Republic of China 73.0 71.3 74.8
83  Nicaragua 72.9 69.9 76.0
84  Colombia 72.9 69.2 76.6
85  Mauritius 72.8 69.5 76.2
86  Saudi Arabia 72.8 70.9 75.3
87  Latvia 72.7 67.3 77.7
88  Jamaica 72.6 70.0 75.2
89  Jordan 72.5 70.8 74.5
90  Romania 72.5 69.0 76.1
91  Sri Lanka 72.4 68.8 76.2
92  Brazil 72.4 68.8 76.1
93  Algeria 72.3 70.9 73.7
94  Dominican Republic 72.2 69.3 75.5
95  Lebanon 72.0 69.9 74.2
96  Armenia 72.0 68.4 75.1
97  El Salvador 71.9 68.8 74.9
98  Turkey 71.8 69.4 74.3
99  Paraguay 71.8 69.7 73.9
100  Philippines 71.7 69.5 73.9
101  Cape Verde 71.7 68.3 74.5
102  Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 71.6 69.5 73.8
103  Samoa 71.5 68.5 74.8
104  Peru 71.4 68.9 74.0
105  Estonia 71.4 65.9 76.8
106  Egypt 71.3 69.1 73.6
107  Morocco 71.2 69.0 73.4
108  Georgia (country) 71.0 67.1 74.8
109  Iran 71.0 69.4 72.6
110  Indonesia 70.7 68.7 72.7
111  Thailand 70.6 66.5 75.0
112  Guatemala 70.3 66.7 73.8
113  Suriname 70.2 67.0 73.6
114  Honduras 70.2 66.9 73.7
115  Vanuatu 70.0 68.3 72.1
116  Trinidad and Tobago 69.8 67.8 71.8
117  Belarus 69.0 63.1 75.2
118  Moldova 68.9 65.1 72.5
119  Fiji 68.8 66.6 71.1
120  Grenada 68.7 67.0 70.3
121  Federated States of Micronesia 68.5 67.7 69.3
122  Maldives 68.5 67.6 69.5
123  Ukraine 67.9 62.1 73.8
124  Azerbaijan 67.5 63.8 71.2
125  North Korea 67.3 65.1 69.3
126  Uzbekistan (world average) 67.2 64.0 70.4
127  Kazakhstan 67.0 61.6 72.4
128  Guyana 66.8 64.2 69.9
129  Mongolia 66.8 63.9 69.9
130  Tajikistan 66.7 64.1 69.4
131  Western Sahara 65.9 64.3 68.1
132  Kyrgyzstan 65.9 62.0 69.9
133  Bhutan 65.6 64.0 67.5
134  Bolivia 65.6 63.4 67.7
135   Sao Tome and Principe 65.5 63.6 67.4
136  Pakistan 65.5 65.2 65.8
137  Russia 65.5 59.0 72.6
138  Comoros 65.2 63.0 67.4
139  India 64.7 63.2 66.4
140  Laos 64.4 63.0 65.8
141  Mauritania 64.2 62.4 66.0
142  Bangladesh 64.1 63.2 65.0
143  Nepal 63.8 63.2 64.2
144  Solomon Islands 63.6 62.7 64.5
145  Turkmenistan 63.2 59.0 67.5
146  Senegal 63.1 61.0 65.1
147  Yemen 62.7 61.1 64.3
148  Myanmar 62.1 59.0 65.3
149  Haiti 60.9 59.1 62.8
150  East Timor (10% below world average) 60.8 60.0 61.7
151  Ghana 60.0 59.6 60.5
152  Cambodia 59.7 57.3 61.9
153  Iraq 59.5 57.8 61.5
154  Gambia 59.4 58.6 60.3
155  Madagascar 59.4 57.7 61.3
156  Sudan 58.6 57.1 60.1
157  Togo 58.4 56.7 60.1
158  Eritrea 58.0 55.6 60.3
159  Papua New Guinea 57.2 54.6 60.4
160  Niger 56.9 57.8 56.0
161  Gabon 56.7 56.4 57.1
162  Benin 56.7 55.6 57.8
163  Guinea 56.0 54.4 57.6
164  Republic of the Congo 55.3 54.0 56.6
165  Djibouti 54.8 53.6 56.0
166  Mali 54.5 52.1 56.6
167  Kenya (20% below world average) 54.1 53.0 55.2
168  Ethiopia 52.9 51.7 54.3
169  Namibia 52.9 52.5 53.1
170  Tanzania 52.5 51.4 53.6
171  Burkina Faso 52.3 50.7 53.8
172  Equatorial Guinea 51.6 50.4 52.8
173  Uganda 51.5 50.8 52.2
174  Botswana 50.7 50.5 50.7
175  Chad 50.6 49.3 52.0
176  Cameroon 50.4 50.0 50.8
177  Burundi 49.6 48.1 51.0
178  South Africa 49.3 48.8 49.7
179  Côte d'Ivoire 48.3 47.5 49.3
180  Malawi 48.3 48.1 48.4
181  Somalia 48.2 46.9 49.4
182  Nigeria (30% below world average) 46.9 46.4 47.3
183  Democratic Republic of the Congo 46.5 45.2 47.7
184  Guinea-Bissau 46.4 44.9 47.9
185  Rwanda 46.2 44.6 47.8
186  Liberia 45.7 44.8 46.6
187  Central African Republic 44.7 43.3 46.1
188  Afghanistan 43.8 43.9 43.8
189  Zimbabwe 43.5 44.1 42.6
190  Angola 42.7 41.2 44.3
191  Lesotho 42.6 42.9 42.3
192  Sierra Leone 42.6 41.0 44.1
193  Zambia 42.4 42.1 42.5
194  Mozambique 42.1 41.7 42.4
195  Swaziland (40% below world average) 39.6 39.8 39.4
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