Life Expectancy
Across the world, people are living longer.
In 1900, the average life expectancy of a newborn was 32 years. By 2021 this had more than doubled to 71 years.
But where, when, how, and why has this dramatic change occurred?
To understand it, we can look at data on life expectancy worldwide.
The large reduction in child mortality has played an important role in increasing life expectancy. But life expectancy has increased at all ages. Infants, children, adults, and the elderly are all less likely to die than in the past, and death is being delayed.
This remarkable shift results from advances in medicine, public health, and living standards. Along with it, many predictions of the ‘limit’ of life expectancy have been broken.
On this page, you will find global data and research on life expectancy and related measures of longevity: the probability of death at a given age, the sex gap in life expectancy, lifespan inequality within countries, and more.
Research & Writing
More articles on life expectancy
“Life Expectancy” – What does this actually mean?
The rise of maximum life expectancy
Why do women live longer than men?
How does the risk of death change as we age – and how has this changed over time?
Period versus cohort measures: what’s the difference?
It’s not just about child mortality, life expectancy improved at all ages
The Spanish flu: The global impact of the largest influenza pandemic in history
Why is life expectancy in the US lower than in other rich countries?
Endnotes
As you can see, the chart also shows that the rise has not been completely constant. Major events – the World Wars, the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and the COVID-19 pandemic – have had a major impact on mortality rates and left a visible mark on life expectancy.
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Saloni Dattani, Lucas Rodés-Guirao, Hannah Ritchie, Esteban Ortiz-Ospina and Max Roser (2023) - “Life Expectancy” Published online at OurWorldinData.org. Retrieved from: 'https://ourworldindata.org/life-expectancy' [Online Resource]
BibTeX citation
@article{owid-life-expectancy,
author = {Saloni Dattani and Lucas Rodés-Guirao and Hannah Ritchie and Esteban Ortiz-Ospina and Max Roser},
title = {Life Expectancy},
journal = {Our World in Data},
year = {2023},
note = {https://ourworldindata.org/life-expectancy}
}
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