TOP 10 Countries by Life Expectancy (2025)
Top 10 countries by life expectancy (2025): age-standardized outlook and mortality patterns
Life expectancy has become one of the clearest single indicators of how well a society manages health risks over the life course. According to recent updates from the UN, World Bank and Global Burden of Disease (GBD) project, global life expectancy has recovered from the COVID-19 shock and in 2023 reached the low 70s in years at birth on average, with high-income regions around the low 80s and the lowest-income regions closer to the low 60s. At the same time, the GBD team notes that age-standardized mortality rates have fallen by about two-thirds since 1950, a historic shift in survival prospects at every age.
Within this global picture, a small group of countries and territories stands out for having the highest life expectancy at birth in 2025. Based on UN World Population Prospects and synthesized rankings, the Top 10 list used here includes:
- Hong Kong (China)
- Japan
- South Korea
- French Polynesia
- Switzerland
- Australia
- Italy
- Singapore
- Spain
- Réunion (France)
All of them report life expectancies in the mid-80s for both sexes combined, several years above the average for high-income regions and more than a decade above the global mean.
Why age-standardization matters for a 2025 outlook
When comparing countries, raw life expectancy at birth is only part of the story. It summarises mortality rates at every age into a single synthetic indicator, but it is still influenced by the age structure of the population and by recent shocks.
To understand what is driving high life expectancy in 2025, analysts also look at age-standardized mortality rates (ASMRs) and age-standardized death rates by cause. Age-standardization answers a simple question: if countries had the same age structure, how many deaths per 100,000 people would we observe? This makes it possible to compare the underlying mortality risk profile in a fair way.
Recent GBD 2023 results show that:
- Global life expectancy has increased by more than 20 years since 1950.
- Age-standardized mortality rates have fallen by about 67% over the same period, with declines in all 200+ countries and territories analysed.
- The highest life expectancy and lowest age-standardized mortality are concentrated in high-Socio-demographic Index (SDI) regions, including high-income Asia-Pacific and Western Europe.
The Top 10 countries in 2025 generally sit in those high-SDI regions. Their raw life expectancy levels reflect decades of sustained reductions in age-standardized mortality from infectious diseases, maternal and child causes, and increasingly from cardiovascular disease and certain cancers.
Key idea: high life expectancy is the visible tip of an iceberg of low age-standardized mortality across many causes of death. It signals not only good survival into old age, but also relatively low mortality in middle age from heart disease, stroke, injuries and “deaths of despair”.
Who tops the life expectancy tables in 2025?
Multiple data portals and media summaries have published rankings of life expectancy in 2024–2025 based on the UN’s World Population Prospects 2024. A widely cited 2025 list of the 10 countries and territories with the highest life expectancy includes Hong Kong at about 85.8 years, followed by Japan, South Korea, French Polynesia, Switzerland, Australia, Italy, Singapore, Spain and Réunion, all clustered between roughly 84 and 86 years at birth.
Other compilations, such as World Population Review and several demographic visualisations, show that if very small micro-states are included, places like Monaco and San Marino also sit at or above 85 years. In this article we focus on the Top 10 list where Hong Kong leads, because it aligns with a 2025 ranking that combines UN estimates with broader country coverage and treats micro-states separately.
Hong Kong (China): compressed mortality at very high ages
Hong Kong consistently appears at the top of life-expectancy tables. Several structural features support this:
- A dense urban fabric with strong primary care access and high hospital capacity.
- Relatively low smoking rates among women and historically declining rates among men.
- A diet with significant portions of fish and vegetables, combined with high physical activity in daily commuting.
Age-standardized mortality is low not only for children and young adults but also for older age groups. The distribution of deaths is “compressed” toward very high ages, meaning most deaths occur in the late 80s and 90s, with comparatively few premature deaths from cardiovascular disease or injuries.
Japan and South Korea: high longevity with ultra-low mortality in midlife
Japan and South Korea are the quintessential high-longevity Asian societies, with life expectancies around the mid-80s. OECD and GBD data show that they combine:
- Very low age-standardized mortality from ischemic heart disease compared to other industrialised countries.
- High coverage of universal health insurance and emphasis on prevention and screening.
- Historically low obesity rates, though both countries are now seeing gradual increases that may affect future trends.
These countries illustrate how reducing age-standardized mortality in middle age — especially from cardiovascular disease, stroke and certain cancers — can push national life expectancy into the mid-80s even in the presence of population ageing and a high share of very old residents.
European leaders: Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Réunion
Among European and European-linked territories, Switzerland, Italy, Spain and Réunion represent the highest levels of life expectancy in 2025. They share several characteristics:
- Well-developed healthcare systems with broad coverage.
- Relatively healthy diets, often characterised by Mediterranean patterns with high consumption of fruits, vegetables, olive oil and fish.
- Age-standardized mortality that has fallen steadily over decades, with current leading causes of death dominated by chronic non-communicable diseases rather than infections.
Réunion — an overseas department of France in the Indian Ocean — is often overlooked in global rankings, but updated UN data show that it now sits in the same longevity cluster as its European peers, reflecting improvements in healthcare access and socio-economic conditions over time.
Australia, Singapore and French Polynesia: high life expectancy outside Europe
Australia is the only large, non-European, non-Asian country in many Top 10 lists for combined male and female life expectancy. It benefits from:
- Strong primary-care systems and screening programmes.
- Relatively low age-standardized mortality from cardiovascular disease and cancer compared with other high-income Anglophone countries.
- Significant public-health efforts on tobacco control and road safety.
Singapore appears both as a financial hub and a health leader, with age-standardized death rates among the lowest in Southeast Asia thanks to universal health coverage, high vaccination rates and proactive chronic-disease management.
French Polynesia, like several Pacific territories, combines relatively small population size with improvements in infectious disease control and maternal/child health. At the same time, GBD data signal growing challenges around obesity and diabetes, which may influence future age-standardized mortality trends if not managed effectively.
Life expectancy 2025 and mortality transitions
The Top 10 countries by life expectancy in 2025 illustrate several broader features of the global mortality transition:
- Child mortality is extremely low — survival to age 5 is almost universal, meaning life expectancy differences are largely driven by mortality in adulthood and older ages.
- Non-communicable diseases dominate the mortality profile — especially heart disease, stroke, cancers, Alzheimer’s disease and diabetes.
- Many causes of death are modifiable — age-standardized mortality is low partly because of decades of policy on tobacco, alcohol, road safety, occupational health, immunisation and air quality.
The next sections summarise the Top 10 ranking in a compact table and then visualise the gap between these highest-longevity countries and the approximate global average, while keeping in view an age-standardized outlook on mortality.
Top 10 countries by life expectancy in 2025 (approximate values)
The table below summarises a 2025 ranking of the countries and territories with the highest life expectancy at birth (both sexes combined). Values are approximate and based mainly on UN World Population Prospects 2024 as compiled in recent 2025 lists of countries with the highest life expectancy. The third column offers a brief, qualitative view of each country’s age-standardized mortality profile.
| Country / territory | Life expectancy at birth (years, ≈2024–2025) | Age-standardized mortality & longevity profile |
|---|---|---|
|
Hong Kong (China) Ranked #1, ≈85.8 years |
Around 85.8 years for both sexes combined, among the highest in the world. | Very low age-standardized mortality across most adult ages; cardiovascular and stroke mortality are low compared with global averages. Most deaths occur at very high ages, indicating strong “compression of mortality”. Public healthcare, high vaccination coverage and relatively healthy diets contribute to this profile. |
|
Japan ≈85.0 years |
Around 85.0 years, with women approaching 88 years and men just above 81–82 years. | Among the lowest age-standardized death rates for ischemic heart disease and stroke in the OECD. High survival into the late 80s and 90s, with dementia and frailty becoming more prominent causes of death. Lifestyle factors (diet, physical activity) and universal health coverage drive the low ASMR. |
|
South Korea ≈84.5 years |
Life expectancy around 84.5 years, with female life expectancy close to 87–88 years. | Rapid gains over recent decades, with large reductions in age-standardized mortality from infections and cardiovascular disease. Remaining challenges include suicide rates in younger adults and rising obesity, but overall ASMR remains low compared with most high-income countries. |
|
French Polynesia ≈84.3 years |
Around 84.3 years, putting it in the same longevity band as leading European countries. | Child and maternal mortality are very low, and infectious-disease deaths are rare. Age-standardized mortality is dominated by non-communicable diseases, with rising burdens of obesity and diabetes that could affect future life expectancy if unaddressed. |
|
Switzerland ≈84.2 years |
Life expectancy roughly 84.2 years, one of the highest among large European countries. | Low age-standardized mortality from cardiovascular disease and many cancers, with high health spending and strong social protection. Remaining gaps are concentrated in specific risk groups (e.g. smoking-related disease and some mental-health related mortality). |
|
Australia ≈84.2 years |
Around 84.2 years, making Australia one of the highest-longevity countries outside Europe and East Asia. | Very low age-standardized mortality at most ages thanks to strong primary care, road-safety measures, tobacco control and cancer screening. Important disparities remain between the Indigenous population and the general population, with higher mortality rates in the former. |
|
Italy ≈84.0 years |
Life expectancy around 84.0 years, supported by long-term declines in midlife mortality. | Age-standardized mortality has fallen sharply since the 1970s, particularly for cardiovascular disease. A Mediterranean-style diet and family-based care structures are often cited, alongside universal health coverage. Population ageing is advanced, but late-age mortality remains low. |
|
Singapore ≈84.0 years |
Around 84.0 years, with very high survival into old age across most population groups. | Age-standardized mortality is among the lowest in Southeast Asia. Strong emphasis on prevention, active ageing programmes, high immunisation rates and tight control of communicable diseases keep ASMR low. Chronic conditions, including diabetes and ischemic heart disease, are well managed but remain key contributors to late-life mortality. |
|
Spain ≈84.0 years |
Approximately 84.0 years, similar to Italy and Switzerland. | Very low age-standardized mortality from ischaemic heart disease and stroke relative to many European peers, partly associated with diet and lifestyle. Spain’s health system offers broad coverage, and GBD data highlight relatively low premature mortality in middle age. |
|
Réunion (France) ≈83.8 years |
Life expectancy close to 83.8 years, reflecting rapid convergence to Western European levels. | As an overseas department of France, Réunion benefits from integration into the French health and social-security system. Age-standardized mortality from infectious disease is now low, but non-communicable diseases and metabolic conditions are important targets for further mortality reductions. |
Note that other compilations using the same UN data but different inclusion criteria sometimes list micro-states such as Monaco and San Marino ahead of Hong Kong, with life expectancies in the 85–87 year range. The countries shown here illustrate the broader pattern of very low age-standardized mortality in high-SDI regions rather than an exhaustive ranking of all small territories.
Visualising life expectancy 2025: Top 10 vs. world average
The div-based bar chart below illustrates how far the Top 10 countries by life expectancy in 2025 sit above the approximate global average. All Top 10 entries cluster in the mid-80s in years at birth, while the world average remains in the low 70s. This gap reflects decades of divergence in age-standardized mortality between high-SDI regions and low-income regions.
Age-standardized outlook: what lies behind the bars
From an age-standardized perspective, the message of the chart is that the Top 10 countries combine:
- Low child mortality — deaths before age 5 are rare, so they contribute little to overall life expectancy gaps.
- Low adult mortality — age-standardized death rates from major non-communicable diseases are far below global averages, particularly for cardiovascular disease and many cancers.
- Relatively low injury and violence mortality — road deaths, homicides and conflict-related deaths are comparatively rare, in contrast to some regions where they depress life expectancy despite economic growth.
Global studies of mortality show that while age-standardized mortality has fallen almost everywhere, youth and young-adult mortality is now rising in some high-income regions due to so-called “deaths of despair” (suicide, overdose, alcohol-related causes). Even high-longevity countries need to monitor these trends to avoid future stalls or declines in life expectancy.
