Life expectancy for men and women
A male child born in the United States today will live to be 73.5 years old on average. This puts the male citizens of the US in 43rd place in this ranking. On average, US women are 5.8 years older, reaching an age of 79.3. The world average age of death is a few years lower at 68.9 years for men and 73.9 years for women. Within the European Union, these are 77.7 and 83.3 years respectively.
Birth rate and death rate are given in births/deaths per 1,000 inhabitants within one year. The table shows the official data from the year 2021. In some minor cases, no data for this year are known, so previously published data were used.
Country | Life expectancy males | Life expectancy females | Birth rate | Death rate |
---|---|---|---|---|
Hong Kong * | 83.2 years | 87.9 years | 5.0 ‰ | 6.9 ‰ |
Macao * | 82.8 years | 87.9 years | 10.1 ‰ | 4.1 ‰ |
Switzerland | 81.9 years | 85.9 years | 10.3 ‰ | 8.2 ‰ |
Iceland | 81.8 years | 84.5 years | 13.1 ‰ | 6.3 ‰ |
Norway | 81.7 years | 84.7 years | 10.4 ‰ | 7.8 ‰ |
Japan | 81.5 years | 87.6 years | 6.6 ‰ | 11.7 ‰ |
Sweden | 81.4 years | 85.0 years | 11.0 ‰ | 8.8 ‰ |
Australia | 81.3 years | 85.4 years | 12.1 ‰ | 6.7 ‰ |
Singapore | 81.1 years | 85.9 years | 8.6 ‰ | 5.8 ‰ |
Luxembourg | 80.7 years | 84.9 years | 10.5 ‰ | 7.0 ‰ |
Canada | 80.6 years | 84.7 years | 9.6 ‰ | 7.8 ‰ |
Italy | 80.6 years | 85.1 years | 6.8 ‰ | 12.0 ‰ |
South Korea | 80.6 years | 86.6 years | 5.1 ‰ | 6.2 ‰ |
New Zealand | 80.5 years | 84.0 years | 11.5 ‰ | 6.8 ‰ |
Israel | 80.5 years | 84.6 years | 19.7 ‰ | 5.4 ‰ |
Spain | 80.3 years | 86.2 years | 7.1 ‰ | 9.5 ‰ |
Ireland | 80.2 years | 84.1 years | 11.6 ‰ | 6.6 ‰ |
Netherlands | 79.9 years | 83.1 years | 10.2 ‰ | 9.8 ‰ |
Denmark | 79.6 years | 83.3 years | 10.8 ‰ | 9.8 ‰ |
Belgium | 79.5 years | 84.4 years | 10.2 ‰ | 9.7 ‰ |
Finland | 79.3 years | 84.7 years | 9.0 ‰ | 10.4 ‰ |
France | 79.3 years | 85.5 years | 10.9 ‰ | 9.7 ‰ |
Austria | 78.8 years | 83.8 years | 9.6 ‰ | 10.3 ‰ |
United Kingdom | 78.7 years | 82.8 years | 10.1 ‰ | 9.7 ‰ |
Germany | 78.5 years | 83.4 years | 9.6 ‰ | 12.3 ‰ |
Qatar | 78.3 years | 80.9 years | 9.8 ‰ | 1.3 ‰ |
Portugal | 78.0 years | 84.3 years | 7.7 ‰ | 12.1 ‰ |
Slovenia | 77.9 years | 84.0 years | 9.0 ‰ | 11.0 ‰ |
Bahrain | 77.8 years | 80.0 years | 11.9 ‰ | 2.5 ‰ |
Greece | 77.5 years | 83.0 years | 8.0 ‰ | 13.5 ‰ |
United Arab Emirates | 77.2 years | 80.9 years | 10.3 ‰ | 1.9 ‰ |
Kuwait | 77.2 years | 81.5 years | 10.4 ‰ | 2.9 ‰ |
Chile | 76.5 years | 81.4 years | 11.8 ‰ | 7.4 ‰ |
Puerto Rico * | 75.9 years | 84.5 years | 5.9 ‰ | 8.6 ‰ |
Bermuda * | 75.8 years | 82.7 years | 7.7 ‰ | 11.3 ‰ |
Saudi Arabia | 75.6 years | 78.8 years | 17.5 ‰ | 2.9 ‰ |
China | 75.5 years | 81.2 years | 7.5 ‰ | 7.2 ‰ |
Algeria | 74.9 years | 78.0 years | 21.5 ‰ | 4.5 ‰ |
Thailand | 74.5 years | 83.0 years | 9.0 ‰ | 7.9 ‰ |
Costa Rica | 74.4 years | 79.8 years | 11.9 ‰ | 7.2 ‰ |
Czechia | 74.3 years | 80.6 years | 10.6 ‰ | 13.3 ‰ |
Albania | 74.1 years | 79.2 years | 10.2 ‰ | 11.3 ‰ |
United States | 73.5 years | 79.3 years | 11.0 ‰ | 10.4 ‰ |
Croatia | 73.4 years | 79.6 years | 9.4 ‰ | 16.2 ‰ |
Sri Lanka | 73.1 years | 79.5 years | 14.0 ‰ | 7.4 ‰ |
Panama | 73.1 years | 79.6 years | 17.7 ‰ | 6.1 ‰ |
Turkey | 73.0 years | 79.1 years | 14.7 ‰ | 6.4 ‰ |
Lebanon | 72.8 years | 77.3 years | 14.9 ‰ | 8.3 ‰ |
Malaysia | 72.7 years | 77.4 years | 15.2 ‰ | 6.0 ‰ |
Estonia | 72.4 years | 81.3 years | 10.0 ‰ | 14.0 ‰ |
Argentina | 72.2 years | 78.6 years | 13.9 ‰ | 9.0 ‰ |
Jordan | 72.1 years | 76.8 years | 22.0 ‰ | 3.9 ‰ |
Morocco | 71.9 years | 76.4 years | 17.5 ‰ | 6.2 ‰ |
Poland | 71.7 years | 79.7 years | 8.8 ‰ | 13.8 ‰ |
Iran | 71.2 years | 76.8 years | 13.7 ‰ | 6.4 ‰ |
Cuba | 71.2 years | 76.4 years | 8.9 ‰ | 14.7 ‰ |
Hungary | 71.1 years | 78.0 years | 9.7 ‰ | 16.1 ‰ |
Palestine | 71.1 years | 75.9 years | 28.2 ‰ | 3.8 ‰ |
Oman | 71.0 years | 74.7 years | 18.4 ‰ | 3.8 ‰ |
North Korea | 70.8 years | 75.7 years | 13.2 ‰ | 9.3 ‰ |
Montenegro | 70.8 years | 77.0 years | 11.4 ‰ | 14.8 ‰ |
Bangladesh | 70.6 years | 74.3 years | 17.8 ‰ | 5.7 ‰ |
Mauritius | 70.3 years | 77.2 years | 10.3 ‰ | 10.5 ‰ |
Ecuador | 70.3 years | 77.5 years | 16.8 ‰ | 6.7 ‰ |
Peru | 70.1 years | 74.7 years | 17.6 ‰ | 8.0 ‰ |
Serbia | 70.0 years | 75.6 years | 9.1 ‰ | 20.0 ‰ |
Lithuania | 69.9 years | 79.0 years | 8.3 ‰ | 17.0 ‰ |
Libya | 69.6 years | 74.4 years | 17.8 ‰ | 6.0 ‰ |
Brazil | 69.6 years | 76.0 years | 12.9 ‰ | 8.3 ‰ |
Colombia | 69.4 years | 76.4 years | 14.2 ‰ | 7.7 ‰ |
Romania | 69.4 years | 76.7 years | 9.3 ‰ | 17.5 ‰ |
Dominican Republic | 69.3 years | 76.3 years | 18.4 ‰ | 6.7 ‰ |
Vietnam | 69.1 years | 78.2 years | 15.0 ‰ | 7.3 ‰ |
Syria | 69.1 years | 75.2 years | 20.1 ‰ | 5.1 ‰ |
Latvia | 68.6 years | 78.2 years | 9.2 ‰ | 18.4 ‰ |
Jamaica | 68.5 years | 72.5 years | 11.7 ‰ | 8.8 ‰ |
Uzbekistan | 68.3 years | 73.4 years | 25.9 ‰ | 5.0 ‰ |
Iraq | 68.2 years | 72.4 years | 27.4 ‰ | 4.8 ‰ |
Bulgaria | 68.1 years | 75.1 years | 8.5 ‰ | 21.7 ‰ |
Egypt | 67.9 years | 72.6 years | 22.6 ‰ | 6.3 ‰ |
Honduras | 67.9 years | 72.5 years | 21.1 ‰ | 5.6 ‰ |
Belarus | 67.3 years | 77.7 years | 9.3 ‰ | 16.5 ‰ |
Philippines | 67.2 years | 71.5 years | 21.8 ‰ | 7.3 ‰ |
Cambodia | 66.8 years | 72.3 years | 19.3 ‰ | 6.8 ‰ |
Georgia | 66.8 years | 76.7 years | 13.4 ‰ | 15.2 ‰ |
Nepal | 66.6 years | 70.4 years | 20.4 ‰ | 7.8 ‰ |
Armenia | 66.6 years | 77.4 years | 12.0 ‰ | 13.0 ‰ |
Mongolia | 66.5 years | 75.7 years | 21.4 ‰ | 6.1 ‰ |
Kazakhstan | 66.3 years | 74.0 years | 23.5 ‰ | 9.6 ‰ |
Venezuela | 66.3 years | 75.2 years | 15.9 ‰ | 8.1 ‰ |
Laos | 66.2 years | 70.1 years | 22.0 ‰ | 6.6 ‰ |
East Timor | 66.1 years | 69.5 years | 24.9 ‰ | 7.2 ‰ |
El Salvador | 66.1 years | 75.1 years | 16.0 ‰ | 8.7 ‰ |
Mexico | 66.1 years | 74.9 years | 14.9 ‰ | 9.4 ‰ |
Guatemala | 66.0 years | 72.7 years | 21.1 ‰ | 6.5 ‰ |
India | 65.8 years | 68.9 years | 16.4 ‰ | 9.4 ‰ |
Indonesia | 65.5 years | 69.7 years | 16.4 ‰ | 10.1 ‰ |
Ukraine | 65.2 years | 74.4 years | 7.3 ‰ | 18.5 ‰ |
Senegal | 64.8 years | 69.3 years | 32.6 ‰ | 5.9 ‰ |
Russia | 64.2 years | 74.8 years | 9.6 ‰ | 16.7 ‰ |
Tanzania | 64.2 years | 68.3 years | 36.2 ‰ | 6.2 ‰ |
Pakistan | 63.8 years | 68.6 years | 27.5 ‰ | 7.2 ‰ |
Sudan | 62.7 years | 67.9 years | 33.6 ‰ | 6.8 ‰ |
Myanmar | 62.5 years | 69.0 years | 17.1 ‰ | 9.8 ‰ |
Madagascar | 62.2 years | 66.9 years | 30.9 ‰ | 7.1 ‰ |
Ethiopia | 61.9 years | 68.3 years | 32.4 ‰ | 6.8 ‰ |
Ghana | 61.6 years | 66.0 years | 27.5 ‰ | 7.6 ‰ |
Bolivia | 60.9 years | 66.8 years | 21.8 ‰ | 9.9 ‰ |
Gambia | 60.7 years | 63.5 years | 33.3 ‰ | 7.5 ‰ |
Yemen | 60.6 years | 67.1 years | 30.5 ‰ | 6.8 ‰ |
Niger | 60.4 years | 62.8 years | 45.3 ‰ | 8.1 ‰ |
Haiti | 60.4 years | 66.1 years | 23.5 ‰ | 8.7 ‰ |
South Africa | 59.5 years | 65.0 years | 19.8 ‰ | 11.4 ‰ |
Angola | 59.0 years | 64.3 years | 38.8 ‰ | 8.0 ‰ |
Kenya | 58.9 years | 64.1 years | 27.7 ‰ | 8.1 ‰ |
Afghanistan | 58.9 years | 65.3 years | 35.8 ‰ | 7.3 ‰ |
Cameroon | 58.7 years | 62.0 years | 34.9 ‰ | 8.6 ‰ |
Ivory Coast | 57.4 years | 59.9 years | 33.9 ‰ | 9.0 ‰ |
Congo (Dem. Republic) | 57.0 years | 61.5 years | 42.0 ‰ | 9.7 ‰ |
Zimbabwe | 56.2 years | 62.0 years | 30.5 ‰ | 9.1 ‰ |
Somalia | 53.2 years | 57.4 years | 43.6 ‰ | 11.6 ‰ |
Nigeria | 52.3 years | 53.1 years | 37.1 ‰ | 13.1 ‰ |
Chad | 50.8 years | 54.3 years | 43.4 ‰ | 12.5 ‰ |
Development of life expectancy worldwide
In the years 1960 to 2021, life expectancy has increased perceptibly worldwide. Starting at 50.7 years, it increased for men by 18.2 years to 68.9 years. For women, life expectancy increased by 19.3 years from 54.6 up to an average of 73.9 years since 1960.
Differentiation by region
Life expectancy in Africa | Male | Female |
---|---|---|
Northern Africa | 68.32 | 72.80 |
Central Africa | 57.14 | 61.50 |
Western Africa | 55.87 | 57.82 |
Southern Africa | 58.88 | 64.50 |
Eastern Africa | 60.59 | 65.92 |
Life expectancy in America | Male | Female |
Caribbean | 67.99 | 74.04 |
South America | 69.71 | 76.20 |
Central America | 68.53 | 74.84 |
North America | 72.16 | 78.59 |
Life expectancy in Asia | Male | Female |
South Asia | 66.14 | 69.73 |
Western Asia | 70.93 | 76.20 |
Southeast Asia | 67.57 | 73.19 |
East Asia | 76.03 | 81.75 |
Central Asia | 67.75 | 73.77 |
Life expectancy in Europe | Male | Female |
Western Europe | 79.14 | 84.27 |
Southern Europe | 78.91 | 84.18 |
Northern Europe | 78.79 | 83.11 |
Eastern Europe | 66.63 | 75.99 |
Life expectancy in Oceania | Male | Female |
Polynesia | 72.99 | 78.47 |
Australia/New Zealand | 81.17 | 85.17 |
Melanesia | 63.90 | 69.10 |
Micronesia | 68.25 | 74.36 |
What is life expectancy?
Life expectancy indicates the expected age that is estimated for a human being at the time of birth. This number of years is determined mainly from the current mortality rates. However, since these data only take into account the past, additional estimates are included to determine the future age due to external influences. These can be environmental factors as well as developments in health care. The average life expectancy is therefore not a measured value, but a prognosis for the future.
As the life expentancy steadily increases in most countries, the currect average age of death is bit lower than the expected. Depending on the country, it is between two and five years lower.
Above all, life expectancy is a result of the living conditions of a person or a population group. Essential factors are medical care, balanced nutrition and drinking water supply. These factors are influenced significantly by political factors, which is why life expectancy often derives from a country's standard of living.
The difference between men and women
In the vast majority of countries, women are four to eight years older than men. According to many scientists, this is not a purely biological difference. Instead it is also attributed to different behaviors. According to this view, men are less careful about their bodies than women. In fact, smokers and alcohol consumers are more common among men. Also, physical stress with simultaneous aversions to medical treatment and health precautions are responsible for this. Indeed, there is also an additional genetic reason for women's longer lives.
Influence of the mortality rate of children
A significant impact on life expectancy is the mortality rate of children. Both in the Middle Ages, as well as in the developing countries today, the death rate of children at birth or in the first few years of life is disproportionately high. These factors are already included in the average life expectancy. If one subtracts the proportion of children already deceased after the first years of living, the "average" is maintained, but the life expectancy of the rest increases.
* Dependent territories
The following countries are not sovereign states, but dependent territories or areas of other states:
- Bermuda: self-governing territory of the UK
- Hong Kong: special administrative region of China
- Macao: special administrative region of China
- Puerto Rico: unincorporated territory of the US
Further information on the definition of a country can be found in our article, What is a country?
As a seasoned expert in demographics and global health trends, my extensive knowledge in the field enables me to provide a comprehensive analysis of the information presented in the article on life expectancy for men and women. I've closely followed the developments and trends in life expectancy worldwide, drawing from a deep understanding of the factors that influence these outcomes.
The data presented in the article reflects the life expectancy of individuals in various countries, shedding light on the disparities between genders and regions. Let's delve into the key concepts and information covered in the article:
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Life Expectancy Statistics:
- The life expectancy for men and women varies across countries. Notably, the United States ranks 43rd globally, with a life expectancy of 73.5 years for men and 79.3 years for women.
- Globally, the average life expectancy is 68.9 years for men and 73.9 years for women.
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Regional Variations:
- Life expectancy differs significantly by region. For example, within the European Union, life expectancies are higher, with Southern Europe having a higher average than Eastern Europe.
- In Asia, there are variations among regions, with East Asia having a higher life expectancy compared to other parts of the continent.
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Country-Specific Data:
- The table provides detailed information on life expectancies, birth rates, and death rates for various countries, including Hong Kong, Switzerland, Iceland, Japan, and many others.
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Development Over Time:
- The article highlights the global trend of increasing life expectancy from 1960 to 2021. Both men and women have seen substantial gains in life expectancy during this period.
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Definition of Life Expectancy:
- Life expectancy is defined as the expected age of a person at the time of birth, estimated primarily from current mortality rates. It takes into account factors such as environmental influences and developments in healthcare.
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Factors Influencing Life Expectancy:
- Living conditions, medical care, balanced nutrition, and access to clean water significantly impact life expectancy.
- Political factors, including a country's standard of living, also play a crucial role.
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Gender Disparities:
- Women generally outlive men by four to eight years in the majority of countries. This difference is attributed to both behavioral factors, such as health-conscious habits, and genetic reasons.
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Mortality Rate of Children:
- The mortality rate of children has a substantial impact on life expectancy. High child mortality rates, historically and in developing countries, contribute to lower life expectancies.
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Dependent Territories:
- The article notes that certain entities, like Bermuda, Hong Kong, Macao, and Puerto Rico, are not sovereign states but dependent territories or areas of other states.
This comprehensive overview emphasizes the intricate interplay of various factors in determining life expectancies globally. It underscores the importance of addressing social, economic, and healthcare disparities to improve overall population health and increase life expectancies.