Sex gap in life expectancy in Canada
Canada: Sex gap in life expectancy was 4.4 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
4.4 years
Change on year
down 21.6%
World rank
152nd
of 236 countries
All-time high
7.41 years
in 1978
All-time low
2.13 years
in 1924
Years of data
103
1921–2023
Sex gap in life expectancy in Canada, 1921–2023
Source: Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2023, sex gap in life expectancy in Canada stood at 4.4 years.
That represents a change of down 21.6% on the previous year and up 7.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, sex gap in life expectancy in Canada peaked at 7.41 years in 1978 and was at its lowest, 2.13 years, in 1924.
Canada ranks 152nd of 236 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 103 years of available data.
Sex gap in life expectancy in Canada, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1921 | 2.19 years | — |
| 1922 | 2.22 years | +1.4% |
| 1923 | 2.18 years | -1.8% |
| 1924 | 2.13 years | -2.3% |
| 1925 | 2.34 years | +9.9% |
| 1926 | 2.33 years | -0.4% |
| 1927 | 2.54 years | +9.0% |
| 1928 | 2.55 years | +0.4% |
| 1929 | 2.51 years | -1.6% |
| 1930 | 2.67 years | +6.4% |
| 1931 | 2.62 years | -1.9% |
| 1932 | 2.27 years | -13.4% |
| 1933 | 2.13 years | -6.2% |
| 1934 | 2.58 years | +21.1% |
| 1935 | 2.5 years | -3.1% |
| 1936 | 2.17 years | -13.2% |
| 1937 | 2.9 years | +33.6% |
| 1938 | 3.11 years | +7.2% |
| 1939 | 3.1 years | -0.3% |
| 1940 | 3.27 years | +5.5% |
| 1941 | 3.68 years | +12.5% |
| 1942 | 3.57 years | -3.0% |
| 1943 | 3.51 years | -1.7% |
| 1944 | 3.27 years | -6.8% |
| 1945 | 3.48 years | +6.4% |
| 1946 | 3.6 years | +3.4% |
| 1947 | 4.07 years | +13.1% |
| 1948 | 4.06 years | -0.2% |
| 1949 | 4.22 years | +3.9% |
| 1950 | 4.43 years | +5.0% |
| 1951 | 4.44 years | +0.2% |
| 1952 | 5.06 years | +14.1% |
| 1953 | 5.11 years | +1.0% |
| 1954 | 5.15 years | +0.8% |
| 1955 | 5.37 years | +4.2% |
| 1956 | 5.31 years | -1.1% |
| 1957 | 5.68 years | +7.0% |
| 1958 | 5.78 years | +1.7% |
| 1959 | 5.66 years | -2.1% |
| 1960 | 5.93 years | +4.8% |
| 1961 | 6.07 years | +2.3% |
| 1962 | 5.99 years | -1.2% |
| 1963 | 6.1 years | +1.8% |
| 1964 | 6.45 years | +5.8% |
| 1965 | 6.39 years | -0.9% |
| 1966 | 6.61 years | +3.5% |
| 1967 | 6.73 years | +1.8% |
| 1968 | 6.69 years | -0.6% |
| 1969 | 6.86 years | +2.5% |
| 1970 | 6.94 years | +1.2% |
| 1971 | 7.03 years | +1.3% |
| 1972 | 7.07 years | +0.6% |
| 1973 | 7.16 years | +1.3% |
| 1974 | 7.16 years | -0.0% |
| 1975 | 7.23 years | +1.0% |
| 1976 | 7.29 years | +0.8% |
| 1977 | 7.33 years | +0.5% |
| 1978 | 7.41 years | +1.1% |
| 1979 | 7.28 years | -1.7% |
| 1980 | 7.12 years | -2.2% |
| 1981 | 7.1 years | -0.3% |
| 1982 | 6.94 years | -2.3% |
| 1983 | 6.86 years | -1.1% |
| 1984 | 6.76 years | -1.5% |
| 1985 | 6.7 years | -0.9% |
| 1986 | 6.56 years | -2.0% |
| 1987 | 6.6 years | +0.5% |
| 1988 | 6.62 years | +0.3% |
| 1989 | 6.52 years | -1.5% |
| 1990 | 6.39 years | -1.9% |
| 1991 | 6.28 years | -1.7% |
| 1992 | 6.28 years | -0.0% |
| 1993 | 6.16 years | -2.0% |
| 1994 | 6.02 years | -2.3% |
| 1995 | 5.97 years | -0.8% |
| 1996 | 5.72 years | -4.1% |
| 1997 | 5.54 years | -3.2% |
| 1998 | 5.45 years | -1.6% |
| 1999 | 5.45 years | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 5.19 years | -4.8% |
| 2001 | 5.09 years | -2.0% |
| 2002 | 4.87 years | -4.3% |
| 2003 | 4.93 years | +1.2% |
| 2004 | 4.79 years | -2.9% |
| 2005 | 4.72 years | -1.4% |
| 2006 | 4.66 years | -1.3% |
| 2007 | 4.62 years | -0.7% |
| 2008 | 4.54 years | -1.7% |
| 2009 | 4.44 years | -2.3% |
| 2010 | 4.34 years | -2.2% |
| 2011 | 4.25 years | -2.2% |
| 2012 | 4.18 years | -1.6% |
| 2013 | 4.09 years | -2.3% |
| 2014 | 4.15 years | +1.5% |
| 2015 | 4.05 years | -2.4% |
| 2016 | 4.09 years | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 4.27 years | +4.5% |
| 2018 | 4.19 years | -1.9% |
| 2019 | 4.19 years | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 4.5 years | +7.4% |
| 2021 | 4.76 years | +5.7% |
| 2022 | 5.61 years | +18.0% |
| 2023 | 4.4 years | -21.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 2.33 years | 2.13 years | 2.55 years | 9 |
| 1930s | 2.6 years | 2.13 years | 3.11 years | 10 |
| 1940s | 3.67 years | 3.27 years | 4.22 years | 10 |
| 1950s | 5.2 years | 4.43 years | 5.78 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 6.38 years | 5.93 years | 6.86 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 7.19 years | 6.94 years | 7.41 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 6.78 years | 6.52 years | 7.12 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.93 years | 5.45 years | 6.39 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.78 years | 4.44 years | 5.19 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.18 years | 4.05 years | 4.34 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.82 years | 4.4 years | 5.61 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Canada
More health data for Canada
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.79 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate -0.3588 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,083 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 385 deaths (2100)
- Population ages 0-14, female, annual growth rate 0.0542 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female, per capita 0.0731 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, annual growth rate 0.0818 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, per capita 0.0767 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is sex gap in life expectancy in Canada?
- Sex gap in life expectancy in Canada was 4.4 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 Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 7.41 years in 1978.
- What is the lowest sex gap in life expectancy recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.13 years in 1924.
- How does Canada rank for sex gap in life expectancy?
- Canada ranks 152nd out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is sex gap in life expectancy rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Canada 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.