Life expectancy of the world’s countries 2025
Life expectancy at birth is the average number of years a newborn is expected to live if current age-specific mortality rates remain unchanged. It is not a personal prediction; it is a compact indicator of population health, health-system performance, living standards, and risk exposure.
In 2025, global life expectancy continues a gradual recovery after the COVID-19 shock. International datasets (UN/WHO) show that long-term gains are driven by vaccination, safer childbirth, better cardiovascular care, improved sanitation, and rising education—while progress is held back by conflict, weak primary care, and preventable chronic disease.
Below: (1) Top-10 and Bottom-10 countries/territories, (2) a clear comparison chart, and (3) a safe fallback table if scripts are blocked.
Table 1. Top 10 countries/territories by life expectancy (2025)
Columns limited to 4: Rank · Country/territory · Life expectancy · Healthy life expectancy (HALE).
| Rank | Country / territory | Life expectancy | HALE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Hong Kong | 85.8 | 74.2 |
| 2 | Japan | 84.9 | 73.5 |
| 3 | Switzerland | 84.4 | 72.8 |
| 4 | Singapore | 84.3 | 73.1 |
| 5 | Italy | 84.2 | 72.3 |
| 6 | Spain | 84.1 | 72.5 |
| 7 | South Korea | 84.1 | 72.9 |
| 8 | Australia | 83.7 | 71.8 |
| 9 | Sweden | 83.5 | 71.6 |
| 10 | France | 82.5 | 70.9 |
Table 2. Bottom 10 countries by life expectancy (2025)
Lower values are strongly associated with fragile health systems, high infectious disease burden, maternal/child mortality, poverty, malnutrition, and conflict-related risks.
| Rank (bottom) | Country | Life expectancy | HALE |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chad | 53.7 | 46.2 |
| 2 | Nigeria | 54.6 | 47.1 |
| 3 | Lesotho | 54.9 | 47.4 |
| 4 | Central African Republic | 55.5 | 48.0 |
| 5 | South Sudan | 56.5 | 48.8 |
| 6 | Somalia | 57.4 | 49.5 |
| 7 | Eswatini | 57.7 | 49.8 |
| 8 | Guinea | 59.6 | 51.3 |
| 9 | Mali | 60.0 | 51.8 |
| 10 | Burundi | 61.2 | 52.7 |
Chart 1. Top 10 vs Bottom 10 (life expectancy, 2025)
The chart compares the extremes of the distribution. A fully readable fallback table is included below.
| Group | Country / territory | Life expectancy | HALE |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top | Hong Kong | 85.8 | 74.2 |
| Top | Japan | 84.9 | 73.5 |
| Top | Switzerland | 84.4 | 72.8 |
| Top | Singapore | 84.3 | 73.1 |
| Top | Italy | 84.2 | 72.3 |
| Top | Spain | 84.1 | 72.5 |
| Top | South Korea | 84.1 | 72.9 |
| Top | Australia | 83.7 | 71.8 |
| Top | Sweden | 83.5 | 71.6 |
| Top | France | 82.5 | 70.9 |
| Bottom | Chad | 53.7 | 46.2 |
| Bottom | Nigeria | 54.6 | 47.1 |
| Bottom | Lesotho | 54.9 | 47.4 |
| Bottom | Central African Republic | 55.5 | 48.0 |
| Bottom | South Sudan | 56.5 | 48.8 |
| Bottom | Somalia | 57.4 | 49.5 |
| Bottom | Eswatini | 57.7 | 49.8 |
| Bottom | Guinea | 59.6 | 51.3 |
| Bottom | Mali | 60.0 | 51.8 |
| Bottom | Burundi | 61.2 | 52.7 |
Regional patterns in 2025
Differences between regions remain large. High-income parts of East Asia, Western Europe, and Oceania cluster above 80 years, while several low-income and conflict-affected countries remain below 60. This gap reflects a mix of primary care coverage, vaccination and maternal services, safe water and sanitation, and the ability to prevent and manage chronic disease.
Another stable pattern is the gender gap: women usually live longer than men (often by 4–8 years), but the size of the gap varies depending on cardiovascular risk, alcohol/tobacco use, injuries, occupational hazards, and access to care.
Table 3. Regional snapshot (2025)
Four columns only: Region · Average · Direction vs pre-COVID · What drives the level.
| Region | Typical level | 2025 direction | Main drivers |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Asia & Pacific | 80+ years | High, stable | Universal/near-universal coverage, strong prevention, low infant mortality |
| Western Europe | 80+ years | Recovering | Broad primary care, chronic disease management, safer elder care |
| Eastern Europe | 70–78 years | Mixed | Cardiovascular burden, alcohol/tobacco exposure, unequal access |
| North America | 78–82 years | Uneven | Chronic disease, access/cost barriers, preventable mortality |
| Latin America & Caribbean | 72–80 years | Recovering | Public health programs, inequality, violence/injury risk in some areas |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 60–66 years | Gradual gains | Infectious diseases, maternal/child outcomes, limited service capacity |
What pushes life expectancy up (or down)
- Primary care coverage: vaccination, maternal care, and early detection reduce avoidable deaths.
- Chronic disease control: hypertension and diabetes management strongly affects 50+ mortality.
- Nutrition and lifestyle: diet quality, obesity levels, alcohol/tobacco patterns shift long-run outcomes.
- Safety and stability: conflict, road injuries, and violence can cut life expectancy quickly.
- Basic infrastructure: clean water, sanitation, and reliable electricity underpin health systems.
Practical reading: HALE is usually 10–12 years lower than total life expectancy, capturing years lived with disability or ill health.
Why this indicator matters
High life expectancy typically implies an older age structure and rising pressure on pensions, aged care, and long-term chronic disease management. Lower life expectancy often correlates with preventable mortality at younger ages, which limits workforce growth and slows human capital accumulation.
Policy takeaway: the biggest, fastest gains usually come from high-coverage primary care (vaccines, maternal services, malaria prevention where relevant), plus pragmatic chronic disease control (blood pressure, diabetes, and smoking reduction).
FAQ
No. It is a population statistic that assumes today’s mortality rates by age stay constant. A person’s outcome depends on future medicine, policy, behavior, and individual circumstances.
HALE (Healthy Life Expectancy) estimates years lived in “full health.” It subtracts years lived with disease or disability. The HALE gap is a simple way to see how much of a long life is spent in less-than-ideal health.
Biology plays a role, but a large part comes from behavioral and environmental risks: smoking/alcohol patterns, injury and violence exposure, occupational hazards, and health-seeking behavior.
Yes—especially when the baseline is low. Scaling proven interventions (vaccines, malaria nets, maternal care, safe water, and basic emergency care) can move the metric within years, not decades.
Methodology & notes
Metric: life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes.
HALE: healthy life expectancy (years), both sexes.
Interpretation: cross-country comparisons are most reliable when data quality is high
(civil registration completeness, stable population estimates). Some countries have wider uncertainty.
For “2025 estimates,” international sources often provide model-based estimates or projections consistent across countries. When reporting, keep the same source across all countries to avoid mixing methodologies.
Sources
-
United Nations — World Population Prospects (WPP)
Life expectancy estimates/projections by country, plus downloadable datasets and metadata.
Open source -
World Health Organization (WHO) — Global Health Observatory
Life expectancy and HALE series with methodological notes and comparable country profiles.
Open source -
World Bank — Life expectancy at birth (indicator)
Global indicator series commonly used for long-run comparisons and dashboards.
Open source -
Eurostat — Life expectancy by age and sex
EU-focused methodology and time series for member states and European aggregates.
Open source
Download tables & chart images (Life expectancy, 2025)
Download the ZIP archive with prepared CSV/XLSX tables and PNG chart images used on this page.
