Sex gap in life expectancy in Australia
Australia: Sex gap in life expectancy was 3.64 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
3.64 years
Change on year
down 11.9%
World rank
199th
of 236 countries
All-time high
7.14 years
in 1979
All-time low
3.39 years
in 1928
Years of data
103
1921–2023
Sex gap in life expectancy in Australia, 1921–2023
Source: Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for sex gap in life expectancy in Australia is 3.64 years, measured in 2023.
The figure is down 11.9% on the previous year and down 12.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, sex gap in life expectancy in Australia peaked at 7.14 years in 1979 and was at its lowest, 3.39 years, in 1928.
That places Australia 199th out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 103 years of available data.
Sex gap in life expectancy in Australia, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1921 | 4.08 years | — |
| 1922 | 4.23 years | +3.7% |
| 1923 | 3.68 years | -13.0% |
| 1924 | 3.74 years | +1.6% |
| 1925 | 4.08 years | +9.1% |
| 1926 | 4.08 years | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 3.75 years | -8.1% |
| 1928 | 3.39 years | -9.6% |
| 1929 | 4.29 years | +26.5% |
| 1930 | 3.75 years | -12.6% |
| 1931 | 3.78 years | +0.8% |
| 1932 | 3.77 years | -0.3% |
| 1933 | 3.81 years | +1.1% |
| 1934 | 3.6 years | -5.5% |
| 1935 | 3.99 years | +10.8% |
| 1936 | 3.82 years | -4.3% |
| 1937 | 4.2 years | +9.9% |
| 1938 | 4.13 years | -1.7% |
| 1939 | 4.42 years | +7.0% |
| 1940 | 4.71 years | +6.6% |
| 1941 | 4.18 years | -11.3% |
| 1942 | 4 years | -4.3% |
| 1943 | 3.68 years | -8.0% |
| 1944 | 3.54 years | -3.8% |
| 1945 | 3.66 years | +3.4% |
| 1946 | 4.28 years | +16.9% |
| 1947 | 4.68 years | +9.3% |
| 1948 | 4.86 years | +3.8% |
| 1949 | 5.14 years | +5.8% |
| 1950 | 5.2 years | +1.2% |
| 1951 | 5.52 years | +6.0% |
| 1952 | 5.59 years | +1.4% |
| 1953 | 5.49 years | -1.8% |
| 1954 | 5.61 years | +2.2% |
| 1955 | 5.91 years | +5.4% |
| 1956 | 5.77 years | -2.5% |
| 1957 | 6.01 years | +4.3% |
| 1958 | 6.07 years | +1.0% |
| 1959 | 6.3 years | +3.7% |
| 1960 | 6.1 years | -3.1% |
| 1961 | 6.47 years | +6.1% |
| 1962 | 6.48 years | +0.1% |
| 1963 | 6.41 years | -1.1% |
| 1964 | 6.49 years | +1.4% |
| 1965 | 6.58 years | +1.4% |
| 1966 | 6.49 years | -1.3% |
| 1967 | 6.73 years | +3.6% |
| 1968 | 6.77 years | +0.6% |
| 1969 | 6.92 years | +2.3% |
| 1970 | 6.75 years | -2.5% |
| 1971 | 6.65 years | -1.5% |
| 1972 | 6.84 years | +2.8% |
| 1973 | 7.03 years | +2.9% |
| 1974 | 7.04 years | +0.1% |
| 1975 | 7.05 years | +0.1% |
| 1976 | 7 years | -0.6% |
| 1977 | 6.99 years | -0.2% |
| 1978 | 7 years | +0.2% |
| 1979 | 7.14 years | +2.0% |
| 1980 | 7.14 years | -0.0% |
| 1981 | 7.13 years | -0.1% |
| 1982 | 6.98 years | -2.2% |
| 1983 | 6.68 years | -4.3% |
| 1984 | 6.57 years | -1.5% |
| 1985 | 6.4 years | -2.7% |
| 1986 | 6.41 years | +0.3% |
| 1987 | 6.42 years | +0.1% |
| 1988 | 6.42 years | -0.1% |
| 1989 | 6.25 years | -2.5% |
| 1990 | 6.17 years | -1.4% |
| 1991 | 6 years | -2.7% |
| 1992 | 5.99 years | -0.1% |
| 1993 | 5.95 years | -0.7% |
| 1994 | 5.9 years | -0.8% |
| 1995 | 5.74 years | -2.8% |
| 1996 | 5.8 years | +1.1% |
| 1997 | 5.52 years | -4.9% |
| 1998 | 5.68 years | +2.9% |
| 1999 | 5.54 years | -2.4% |
| 2000 | 5.33 years | -3.9% |
| 2001 | 5.22 years | -2.1% |
| 2002 | 4.99 years | -4.3% |
| 2003 | 4.96 years | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 4.9 years | -1.3% |
| 2005 | 4.8 years | -2.0% |
| 2006 | 4.67 years | -2.8% |
| 2007 | 4.62 years | -1.1% |
| 2008 | 4.55 years | -1.4% |
| 2009 | 4.55 years | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 4.39 years | -3.5% |
| 2011 | 4.33 years | -1.2% |
| 2012 | 4.03 years | -7.0% |
| 2013 | 4.16 years | +3.1% |
| 2014 | 3.97 years | -4.4% |
| 2015 | 4.05 years | +2.0% |
| 2016 | 4.09 years | +1.1% |
| 2017 | 4.06 years | -0.8% |
| 2018 | 4.08 years | +0.4% |
| 2019 | 4.07 years | -0.2% |
| 2020 | 4.06 years | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 3.83 years | -5.8% |
| 2022 | 4.13 years | +8.0% |
| 2023 | 3.64 years | -11.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 3.92 years | 3.39 years | 4.29 years | 9 |
| 1930s | 3.93 years | 3.6 years | 4.42 years | 10 |
| 1940s | 4.27 years | 3.54 years | 5.14 years | 10 |
| 1950s | 5.75 years | 5.2 years | 6.3 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 6.54 years | 6.1 years | 6.92 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 6.95 years | 6.65 years | 7.14 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 6.64 years | 6.25 years | 7.14 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.83 years | 5.52 years | 6.17 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.86 years | 4.55 years | 5.33 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.12 years | 3.97 years | 4.39 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.91 years | 3.64 years | 4.13 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Australia
More health data for Australia
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.83 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate -0.9072 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 906.6 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 215 deaths (2100)
- Population ages 80 and above, female, per capita 0.0265 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 80 and above, male, annual growth rate 5.91 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 80 and above, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 80 and above, male, per capita 0.0202 units per person (2025)
- Pertussis - number of reported cases, gaps filled 25,277 (2025)
- Pertussis - number of reported cases, per capita 0.0009 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is sex gap in life expectancy in Australia?
- Sex gap in life expectancy in Australia was 3.64 years in 2023, according to Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest sex gap in life expectancy recorded in Australia?
- The highest recorded value was 7.14 years in 1979.
- What is the lowest sex gap in life expectancy recorded in Australia?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.39 years in 1928.
- How does Australia rank for sex gap in life expectancy?
- Australia ranks 199th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is sex gap in life expectancy rising or falling in Australia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Australia data come from?
- The figures come from Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Sex gap in life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 103 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Difference in period life expectancy (females - males) at a given age.