List of countries by life expectancy explained

This list of countries by life expectancy provides a comprehensive list of countries alongside their respective life expectancy figures. The data is differentiated by sex, presenting life expectancies for males, females, and a combined average. In addition to sovereign nations, the list encompasses several non-sovereign entities and territories. The figures serve as an indicator of the quality of healthcare in the respective countries and are influenced by various factors, including the prevalence of diseases such as HIV/AIDS. This article introduces the concept of Healthy life expectancy (HALE), which denotes the average number of years a person is expected to live in "full health". There are challenges in comparing life expectancies across countries due to disparities in data reporting and collection standards. The primary source of the most recent data presented is the World Bank Group's 2022 report.

Methodology

The life expectancy is shown separately for males and for females, as well as a combined figure. Several non-sovereign entities and territories are also included in this list.

The figures reflect the quality of healthcare in the countries listed as well as other factors including HIV infections.

From the beginning of the current century there is a tendency to also estimate healthy life expectancy (HALE), the average number of years that a person can expect to live in "full health".[1] [2]

Comparing life expectancies across countries can be problematic. For example, due to poor reporting in some countries and various local standards in collecting statistics. This is especially true for Healthy life expectancy, the definition of which criteria may change over time, even within a country. For example, Canada is a country with a fairly high overall life expectancy at 81.63 years; however, this number decreases to 75.5 years for Indigenous people in the country.[3] This discrepancy is echoed in most quality of life metrics across Canada.

United Nations (2023)

Estimation of the analytical agency of the UN.[4] Only countries with populations over 50,000 are listed. Due to this criterion, the table does not include such countries as Monaco (LE 86.37 years, population 39,000), San Marino (LE 85.71 years, population 34,000), and Saint Barthélemy (LE 84.29 years, population 11,000). The values are rounded, all calculations were done on raw data.

These values are used to calculate the Human Development Index.

World Bank Group (2022)

Estimation of the World Bank Group for 2022.[5] [6] [7] Only countries with populations over 50,000 are listed. The values in the World Bank Group tables are rounded. All calculations were done on raw data, therefore, due to the nuances of rounding, in some places illusory inconsistencies of indicators arose, with a size of 0.01 year.

In 2014, some of the world's leading countries had a local peak in life expectancy, so this year is chosen for comparison with 2019 and 2022.

World Health Organization (2019)

According to data published by the World Health Organization in December 2020.[8] [9] By default, data is sorted by life expectancy at birth for all population, and in case of equal values by HALE for all population.

CIA World Factbook (2022)

The US CIA published the following life expectancy data in its World Factbook.[10] [11]

OECD (2022)

Estimation of OECD for 2022.[12] By default, the list is sorted by 2019.

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Healthy life expectancy (HALE) at 60 (years). en. World Health Organization. 1 March 2021. 23 May 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210523205119/https://www.who.int/data/gho/indicator-metadata-registry/imr-details/healthy-life-expectancy-%28hale%29-at-60-%28years%29. live.
  2. Web site: Health Status Statistics: Mortality. https://web.archive.org/web/20120704092005/http://www.who.int/healthinfo/statistics/indhale/en/. 4 July 2012. en. World Health Organization.
  3. Web site: Healthy Aging Report . 6 January 2024 . 6 January 2024 . https://web.archive.org/web/20240106003424/https://www.nwac.ca/assets-knowledge-centre/Healthy-Aging-Report.pdf . live .
  4. Web site: World Population Prospects 2024 . . XLSX . en . 27 July 2024. — see file "Compact (most used: estimates and medium projections)"
  5. Web site: Life expectancy at birth, total. The World Bank Group. 19 September 2024. 14 October 2024. 3 June 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240603114153/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.IN. live.
  6. Web site: Life expectancy at birth, male. The World Bank Group. 19 September 2024. 14 October 2024. 11 March 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210311024618/http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.MA.IN. live.
  7. Web site: Life expectancy at birth, female. The World Bank Group. 19 September 2024. 14 October 2024. 12 March 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210312055808/https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.LE00.FE.IN. live.
  8. Web site: Life expectancy and Healthy life expectancy, data by country . en . World Health Organization . 4 December 2022 . 1 March 2021 . 5 March 2013 . https://web.archive.org/web/20130305150130/https://apps.who.int/gho/data/node.main.688 . live .
  9. Web site: Life expectancy and Healthy life expectancy, data by WHO region . en . World Health Organization . 7 December 2022 . 1 March 2021 . 27 May 2016 . https://web.archive.org/web/20160527081041/https://apps.who.int/gho/data/view.main.SDG2016LEXREGv . live .
  10. Web site: The World Factbook . Central Intelligence Agency . 24 April 2022 . 11 June 2022 . https://web.archive.org/web/20220611180110/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/life-expectancy-at-birth/country-comparison/ . live .
  11. Web site: Life expectancy at birth - The World Factbook . 2022-07-27 . www.cia.gov . 12 February 2021 . https://web.archive.org/web/20210212221326/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/field/life-expectancy-at-birth . live .
  12. Web site: OECD Data: Life expectancy at birth. OECD. 17 December 2023. 11 October 2015. 2 February 2015. https://web.archive.org/web/20150202012350/https://data.oecd.org/healthstat/life-expectancy-at-birth.htm. live.