Health Rankings and Outcomes
Life Expectancy by Country 2026
World
73.8
0.34%
Global Average The average life expectancy across all countries, based on the most recent available data.
Monaco 86.5
Highest
Nigeria 54.6
Lowest
Life Expectancy UN
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
85
90
Countries Ranked by Life Expectancy
Country | Life Expectancy UN 2024↓ | Female Life Expectancy UN 2024 | Male Life Expectancy UN 2024 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Monaco | 86.5 | 88.63 | 84.56 |
 | San Marino | 85.8 | 87.22 | 84.32 |
 | Hong Kong | 85.6 | 88.26 | 82.97 |
 | Japan | 84.8 | 87.88 | 81.83 |
 | South Korea | 84.4 | 87.28 | 81.32 |
 | Saint Barthelemy | 84.4 | 86.92 | 81.57 |
 | French Polynesia | 84.2 | 86.62 | 81.90 |
 | Andorra | 84.2 | 86.24 | 82.26 |
 | Switzerland | 84.1 | 85.95 | 82.17 |
 | Australia | 84.1 | 85.49 | 82.28 |
 | Italy | 83.9 | 85.87 | 81.75 |
 | Singapore | 83.9 | 86.36 | 81.38 |
 | Spain | 83.8 | 86.44 | 81.10 |
 | Liechtenstein | 83.8 | 85.40 | 82.00 |
 | Reunion | 83.7 | 86.45 | 80.67 |
 | Gibraltar | 83.6 | 86.19 | 81.03 |
 | Malta | 83.5 | 85.39 | 81.48 |
 | France | 83.5 | 86.20 | 80.59 |
 | Norway | 83.5 | 84.97 | 81.94 |
 | Sweden | 83.4 | 85.22 | 81.65 |
 | Guernsey | 83.4 | 85.64 | 81.15 |
 | Macau | 83.2 | 85.35 | 81.05 |
 | Vatican City | 83.1 | 85.21 | 80.95 |
 | United Arab Emirates | 83.1 | 84.32 | 82.17 |
 | Iceland | 83.0 | 84.46 | 81.63 |
 | Martinique | 82.7 | 85.73 | 79.45 |
 | Israel | 82.7 | 84.71 | 80.67 |
 | Canada | 82.7 | 84.91 | 80.53 |
 | Ireland | 82.6 | 84.61 | 80.58 |
 | Portugal | 82.5 | 85.25 | 79.68 |
 | Qatar | 82.5 | 83.48 | 81.78 |
 | Bermuda | 82.5 | 85.87 | 79.06 |
 | Luxembourg | 82.4 | 83.94 | 80.75 |
 | Netherlands | 82.3 | 83.85 | 80.72 |
 | Belgium | 82.3 | 84.45 | 80.06 |
 | New Zealand | 82.2 | 83.89 | 80.60 |
 | Guadeloupe | 82.2 | 85.65 | 78.35 |
 | Austria | 82.1 | 84.45 | 79.75 |
 | Denmark | 82.1 | 83.98 | 80.21 |
 | Finland | 82.1 | 84.79 | 79.38 |
 | Greece | 82.0 | 84.46 | 79.50 |
 | Puerto Rico | 81.9 | 85.38 | 78.28 |
 | Cyprus | 81.8 | 83.80 | 79.84 |
 | Slovenia | 81.8 | 84.47 | 79.11 |
 | Germany | 81.5 | 83.88 | 79.21 |
 | United Kingdom | 81.5 | 83.33 | 79.54 |
 | Bahrain | 81.4 | 82.13 | 80.85 |
 | Chile | 81.4 | 83.23 | 79.45 |
 | Maldives | 81.3 | 83.00 | 79.95 |
 | Isle of Man | 81.1 | 83.20 | 79.04 |
 | Costa Rica | 81.0 | 83.58 | 78.37 |
 | Kuwait | 80.6 | 82.00 | 79.45 |
 | Cayman Islands | 80.5 | 83.00 | 78.20 |
 | Saint Martin | 80.4 | 83.96 | 76.99 |
 | Faroe Islands | 80.4 | 82.68 | 78.40 |
 | Oman | 80.3 | 82.05 | 78.72 |
 | Czechia | 80.0 | 82.75 | 77.18 |
 | Jersey | 79.8 | 81.86 | 77.86 |
 | Albania | 79.8 | 81.59 | 77.92 |
 | Panama | 79.8 | 82.71 | 76.88 |
 | Anguilla | 79.5 | 82.78 | 76.23 |
 | United States | 79.5 | 81.98 | 77.05 |
 | Falkland Islands | 79.4 | 81.34 | 77.36 |
 | Estonia | 79.3 | 83.17 | 75.12 |
 | Saudi Arabia | 79.0 | 81.33 | 77.33 |
 | Northern Mariana Islands | 79.0 | 80.87 | 77.28 |
 | New Caledonia | 78.9 | 81.41 | 76.46 |
 | Poland | 78.8 | 82.49 | 75.10 |
 | Croatia | 78.8 | 81.82 | 75.60 |
 | Slovakia | 78.5 | 81.71 | 75.21 |
 | Uruguay | 78.3 | 82.04 | 74.38 |
 | Cuba | 78.3 | 80.68 | 75.86 |
 | Turks and Caicos Islands | 78.2 | 80.45 | 76.01 |
 | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 78.0 | 81.07 | 74.65 |
 | China | 78.0 | 80.97 | 75.25 |
 | Jordan | 78.0 | 80.33 | 75.89 |
 | Lebanon | 78.0 | 79.86 | 75.88 |
 | Peru | 77.9 | 80.30 | 75.63 |
 | Colombia | 77.9 | 80.61 | 75.16 |
 | Iran | 77.8 | 79.81 | 76.00 |
 | Antigua and Barbuda | 77.8 | 80.45 | 74.74 |
 | Sri Lanka | 77.7 | 80.75 | 74.45 |
 | Ecuador | 77.6 | 80.30 | 74.88 |
 | Argentina | 77.5 | 80.02 | 74.98 |
 | North Macedonia | 77.5 | 79.70 | 75.26 |
 | British Virgin Islands | 77.4 | 80.19 | 74.70 |
 | Turkey | 77.4 | 80.34 | 74.62 |
 | Guam | 77.4 | 81.59 | 73.66 |
 | Montenegro | 77.3 | 80.45 | 73.92 |
 | Hungary | 77.2 | 80.33 | 73.89 |
 | French Guiana | 77.2 | 80.15 | 74.33 |
 | Tokelau | 77.2 | 79.03 | 75.08 |
 | Curacao | 77.0 | 80.96 | 72.66 |
 | Serbia | 76.9 | 80.18 | 73.68 |
 | Saint Pierre and Miquelon | 76.9 | 81.64 | 72.96 |
 | Malaysia | 76.8 | 79.52 | 74.45 |
 | Tunisia | 76.7 | 79.33 | 74.13 |
 | Thailand | 76.6 | 80.98 | 72.34 |
 | Sint Maarten | 76.5 | 79.66 | 73.85 |
 | Aruba | 76.5 | 78.92 | 73.85 |
 | Algeria | 76.5 | 77.91 | 75.10 |
 | Montserrat | 76.3 | 78.95 | 74.26 |
 | Latvia | 76.3 | 80.60 | 71.75 |
 | Barbados | 76.3 | 78.76 | 73.75 |
 | Mayotte | 76.2 | 78.51 | 74.27 |
 | Cape Verde | 76.2 | 79.37 | 73.05 |
 | Lithuania | 76.2 | 80.80 | 71.41 |
 | Romania | 76.1 | 79.68 | 72.56 |
 | Brazil | 76.0 | 79.15 | 72.95 |
 | Armenia | 75.8 | 79.59 | 71.58 |
 | Bulgaria | 75.8 | 79.36 | 72.33 |
 | United States Virgin Islands | 75.7 | 81.48 | 70.73 |
 | Brunei | 75.5 | 77.73 | 73.49 |
 | Morocco | 75.5 | 77.78 | 73.35 |
 | Cook Islands | 75.5 | 79.19 | 72.06 |
 | Grenada | 75.4 | 78.50 | 72.52 |
 | Mexico | 75.3 | 78.00 | 72.44 |
 | Nicaragua | 75.1 | 77.58 | 72.46 |
 | Mauritius | 75.1 | 78.34 | 72.11 |
 | Bangladesh | 74.9 | 76.67 | 73.30 |
 | Vietnam | 74.7 | 79.38 | 70.05 |
 | Bahamas | 74.7 | 78.33 | 71.06 |
 | Ukraine | 74.7 | 79.39 | 69.79 |
 | Georgia | 74.7 | 79.23 | 69.75 |
 | Belarus | 74.6 | 79.22 | 69.74 |
 | Azerbaijan | 74.6 | 77.29 | 71.71 |
 | Kazakhstan | 74.5 | 78.52 | 70.27 |
 | Paraguay | 74.0 | 77.09 | 71.01 |
 | Dominican Republic | 73.9 | 77.10 | 70.66 |
 | Suriname | 73.8 | 76.98 | 70.59 |
 | North Korea | 73.7 | 75.88 | 71.55 |
 | Belize | 73.7 | 76.66 | 71.08 |
 | Trinidad and Tobago | 73.6 | 76.82 | 70.51 |
 | Russia | 73.3 | 79.19 | 67.48 |
 | Bhutan | 73.3 | 75.27 | 71.57 |
 | Tonga | 73.1 | 76.54 | 69.50 |
 | Honduras | 73.0 | 75.67 | 70.49 |
 | Seychelles | 73.0 | 76.66 | 70.08 |
 | American Samoa | 73.0 | 75.99 | 70.32 |
 | Saint Lucia | 72.8 | 76.45 | 69.45 |
 | Guatemala | 72.8 | 75.04 | 70.44 |
 | Venezuela | 72.7 | 76.66 | 68.88 |
 | Syria | 72.6 | 74.92 | 70.21 |
 | Uzbekistan | 72.5 | 75.55 | 69.56 |
 | Iraq | 72.4 | 74.18 | 70.50 |
 | El Salvador | 72.3 | 76.49 | 67.76 |
 | Saint Kitts and Nevis | 72.3 | 76.16 | 68.69 |
 | India | 72.2 | 73.86 | 70.73 |
 | Mongolia | 72.0 | 76.66 | 67.49 |
 | Tajikistan | 71.9 | 74.14 | 69.68 |
 | Samoa | 71.8 | 73.82 | 69.96 |
 | Kyrgyzstan | 71.8 | 75.40 | 68.31 |
 | Egypt | 71.8 | 74.01 | 69.65 |
 | Vanuatu | 71.7 | 74.11 | 69.58 |
 | Jamaica | 71.6 | 74.15 | 69.08 |
 | Western Sahara | 71.6 | 73.77 | 69.87 |
 | Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | 71.4 | 74.48 | 68.78 |
 | Moldova | 71.3 | 75.67 | 66.70 |
 | Indonesia | 71.3 | 73.43 | 69.16 |
 | Dominica | 71.3 | 74.72 | 68.35 |
 | Libya | 71.1 | 72.68 | 69.63 |
 | Cambodia | 70.8 | 73.36 | 68.15 |
 | Solomon Islands | 70.7 | 72.18 | 69.36 |
 | Nepal | 70.6 | 72.14 | 69.09 |
 | Guyana | 70.3 | 74.09 | 66.62 |
 | Turkmenistan | 70.2 | 73.01 | 67.00 |
 | Greenland | 70.2 | 72.60 | 68.21 |
 | Niue | 70.1 | 72.87 | 67.54 |
 | Philippines | 70.0 | 72.96 | 66.99 |
 | Sao Tome and Principe | 69.9 | 73.91 | 66.41 |
 | Yemen | 69.4 | 71.55 | 67.37 |
 | Palau | 69.4 | 71.94 | 67.25 |
 | Botswana | 69.3 | 71.85 | 66.78 |
 | Laos | 69.2 | 71.53 | 67.02 |
 | Palestine | 69.2 | 74.25 | 65.22 |
 | Senegal | 68.9 | 71.01 | 67.01 |
 | Eritrea | 68.9 | 70.94 | 66.76 |
 | Bolivia | 68.7 | 71.32 | 66.27 |
 | Mauritania | 68.7 | 70.73 | 66.70 |
 | Gabon | 68.5 | 71.24 | 66.06 |
 | Uganda | 68.5 | 71.37 | 65.49 |
 | Rwanda | 68.0 | 70.14 | 65.71 |
 | Timor-Leste | 67.9 | 69.67 | 66.26 |
 | Pakistan | 67.8 | 70.32 | 65.46 |
 | Ethiopia | 67.6 | 71.02 | 64.35 |
 | Malawi | 67.6 | 70.77 | 64.27 |
 | Namibia | 67.5 | 71.48 | 63.45 |
 | Fiji | 67.5 | 69.54 | 65.47 |
 | Micronesia | 67.4 | 71.28 | 63.63 |
 | Tuvalu | 67.3 | 70.86 | 63.91 |
 | Tanzania | 67.2 | 70.00 | 64.40 |
 | Myanmar | 67.1 | 70.38 | 63.99 |
 | Marshall Islands | 67.1 | 69.48 | 65.03 |
 | Comoros | 67.0 | 69.20 | 65.01 |
 | Kiribati | 66.6 | 68.32 | 64.69 |
 | Zambia | 66.5 | 68.87 | 64.10 |
 | Sudan | 66.5 | 69.83 | 63.45 |
 | South Africa | 66.3 | 69.79 | 62.78 |
 | Afghanistan | 66.3 | 67.81 | 64.70 |
 | Papua New Guinea | 66.3 | 69.21 | 63.84 |
 | Djibouti | 66.2 | 68.74 | 63.73 |
 | Gambia | 66.1 | 67.75 | 64.35 |
 | Republic of the Congo | 66.0 | 67.71 | 64.33 |
 | Ghana | 65.7 | 68.16 | 63.31 |
 | Haiti | 65.1 | 68.49 | 61.90 |
 | Angola | 64.8 | 67.34 | 62.27 |
 | Eswatini | 64.3 | 67.11 | 61.32 |
 | Guinea-Bissau | 64.3 | 66.55 | 61.82 |
 | Cameroon | 64.0 | 66.23 | 61.78 |
 | Equatorial Guinea | 63.9 | 65.89 | 62.22 |
 | Kenya | 63.8 | 66.12 | 61.64 |
 | Madagascar | 63.8 | 65.60 | 62.12 |
 | Burundi | 63.8 | 65.88 | 61.75 |
 | Mozambique | 63.8 | 66.74 | 60.49 |
 | Zimbabwe | 63.1 | 65.31 | 60.49 |
 | Togo | 62.9 | 63.15 | 62.70 |
 | Liberia | 62.3 | 63.63 | 61.02 |
 | Nauru | 62.3 | 64.19 | 60.41 |
 | Ivory Coast | 62.1 | 64.31 | 60.17 |
 | DR Congo | 62.1 | 64.23 | 59.96 |
 | Sierra Leone | 62.0 | 63.70 | 60.23 |
 | Niger | 61.4 | 62.41 | 60.49 |
 | Burkina Faso | 61.3 | 63.43 | 59.11 |
 | Benin | 61.0 | 62.42 | 59.52 |
 | Guinea | 60.9 | 62.09 | 59.66 |
 | Mali | 60.7 | 62.15 | 59.25 |
 | Somalia | 59.0 | 61.55 | 56.49 |
 | Lesotho | 57.8 | 60.44 | 55.03 |
 | South Sudan | 57.7 | 60.75 | 54.76 |
 | Central African Republic | 57.7 | 59.56 | 55.51 |
 | Chad | 55.2 | 57.19 | 53.36 |
 | Nigeria | 54.6 | 54.94 | 54.33 |
- Data shown are sourced from either United Nations (UN) or World Bank (WB).
- Due to methodological differences, estimated life expectancies often vary between sources.
Key Findings
Countries with Highest Life Expectancy
-
Monaco (86.5), San Marino (85.8), and Hong Kong (85.6) dominate top life expectancy rankings.
-
These nations share universal healthcare coverage, high GDP per capita, and very low infant mortality – factors pushing life expectancy into the mid-80s.
Countries with Lowest Life Expectancy
-
The lowest life expectancy levels, often associated with ongoing development challenges, are typically found in lower-income countries, such as Chad (55.2) or Nigeria (54.6).
-
Political instability, food insecurity, and lack of proper healthcare are mainly to blame for lower longevity.
Where the United States Ranks
-
Life expectancy in the United States is 79.5 in 2026 (ranking 62nd globally). The US is behind many developed nations in life expectancy, even with the world’s highest healthcare spending.
-
The main factors at play are unequal access to care and relatively higher rates of chronic disease.
What Is the Average Life Expectancy?
-
The average life expectancy globally is 73.8 in 2026, reflecting steady improvements in healthcare and living standards over recent decades.
-
Average human lifespan varies significantly by region and income level, with developed nations typically exceeding 80 years while lower-income countries face substantially shorter life expectancies.
The Gender Gap in Life Expectancy
-
Globally, women tend to outlive men by an average of 5-6 years, across income levels and regions.
-
This gap is largely due to biological advantages and men’s higher exposure to occupational hazards and health risks over their lifespan.
World Trend Line
Global Life Expectancy and Future Projections
Global life expectancy has risen sharply since 1950 but is projected to grow more slowly in coming decades as aging populations and chronic disease replace infectious disease as primary drivers of mortality.
Life Expectancy
Comparison
Large gaps persist between the highest- and lowest-life-expectancy countries, with the United States closer to the global average than to the world’s top performers.
Definitions & Methodology
What is life expectancy? Life expectancy at birth is the average number of years a newborn is expected to live if current death rates stay the same throughout their life.
What is healthy life expectancy? (HALE) Healthy Life Expectancy (HALE) measures how many years an average person can expect to live in good health. In developed countries, there is typically a so-called Health Gap of a decade or more between total life expectancy and HALE, which takes into account years lived with illness or disability.
Data sources and methodology
- Rankings are based on UN World Population Prospects life expectancy estimates (both sexes, at birth), with an alternate view available using World Bank data.
- UN-recognized countries and microstates (such as Monaco and San Marino) are included, which may affect rank comparisons.
- Rankings reflect the most recent data available in the table and are updated automatically with each data refresh.
Last Updated: May 29, 2026
Sources
- Life expectancy at birth, total (years) - World Bank
- Life expectancy at birth, male (years) - World Bank
- Life expectancy at birth, female (years) - World Bank
- Life expectancy at birth for both sexes combined (years) - United Nations
- Life expectancy at birth, males (years) - United Nations
- Life expectancy at birth, females (years) - United Nations
- Life Expectancy at Birth - World Health Organization
- Healthy Life Expectancy (HALE) at Birth - World Health Organization
- United Nations: National Accounts Main Aggregates Database
- 2021 National Vital Statistics Reports - National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- 2020 National Vital Statistics Reports - National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)/Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
