Difference in female and male life expectancy at birth in Canada
Canada: Difference in female and male life expectancy at birth was 4.4 in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
4.4
Change on year
down 21.6%
World rank
152nd
of 236 countries
All-time high
7.41
in 1978
All-time low
2.13
in 1924
Years of data
103
1921–2023
Difference in female and male life expectancy at birth in Canada, 1921–2023
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2023, difference in female and male life expectancy at birth in Canada stood at 4.4.
That represents a change of down 21.6% on the previous year and up 7.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, difference in female and male life expectancy at birth in Canada peaked at 7.41 in 1978 and was at its lowest, 2.13, 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.
Difference in female and male life expectancy at birth in Canada, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1921 | 2.19 | — |
| 1922 | 2.22 | +1.4% |
| 1923 | 2.18 | -1.8% |
| 1924 | 2.13 | -2.3% |
| 1925 | 2.34 | +9.9% |
| 1926 | 2.33 | -0.4% |
| 1927 | 2.54 | +9.0% |
| 1928 | 2.55 | +0.4% |
| 1929 | 2.51 | -1.6% |
| 1930 | 2.67 | +6.4% |
| 1931 | 2.62 | -1.9% |
| 1932 | 2.27 | -13.4% |
| 1933 | 2.13 | -6.2% |
| 1934 | 2.58 | +21.1% |
| 1935 | 2.5 | -3.1% |
| 1936 | 2.17 | -13.2% |
| 1937 | 2.9 | +33.6% |
| 1938 | 3.11 | +7.2% |
| 1939 | 3.1 | -0.3% |
| 1940 | 3.27 | +5.5% |
| 1941 | 3.68 | +12.5% |
| 1942 | 3.57 | -3.0% |
| 1943 | 3.51 | -1.7% |
| 1944 | 3.27 | -6.8% |
| 1945 | 3.48 | +6.4% |
| 1946 | 3.6 | +3.4% |
| 1947 | 4.07 | +13.1% |
| 1948 | 4.06 | -0.2% |
| 1949 | 4.22 | +3.9% |
| 1950 | 4.43 | +5.0% |
| 1951 | 4.44 | +0.2% |
| 1952 | 5.06 | +14.1% |
| 1953 | 5.11 | +1.0% |
| 1954 | 5.15 | +0.8% |
| 1955 | 5.37 | +4.2% |
| 1956 | 5.31 | -1.1% |
| 1957 | 5.68 | +7.0% |
| 1958 | 5.78 | +1.7% |
| 1959 | 5.66 | -2.1% |
| 1960 | 5.93 | +4.8% |
| 1961 | 6.07 | +2.3% |
| 1962 | 5.99 | -1.2% |
| 1963 | 6.1 | +1.8% |
| 1964 | 6.45 | +5.8% |
| 1965 | 6.39 | -0.9% |
| 1966 | 6.61 | +3.5% |
| 1967 | 6.73 | +1.8% |
| 1968 | 6.69 | -0.6% |
| 1969 | 6.86 | +2.5% |
| 1970 | 6.94 | +1.2% |
| 1971 | 7.03 | +1.3% |
| 1972 | 7.07 | +0.6% |
| 1973 | 7.16 | +1.3% |
| 1974 | 7.16 | -0.0% |
| 1975 | 7.23 | +1.0% |
| 1976 | 7.29 | +0.8% |
| 1977 | 7.33 | +0.5% |
| 1978 | 7.41 | +1.1% |
| 1979 | 7.28 | -1.7% |
| 1980 | 7.12 | -2.2% |
| 1981 | 7.1 | -0.3% |
| 1982 | 6.94 | -2.3% |
| 1983 | 6.86 | -1.1% |
| 1984 | 6.76 | -1.5% |
| 1985 | 6.7 | -0.9% |
| 1986 | 6.56 | -2.0% |
| 1987 | 6.6 | +0.5% |
| 1988 | 6.62 | +0.3% |
| 1989 | 6.52 | -1.5% |
| 1990 | 6.39 | -1.9% |
| 1991 | 6.28 | -1.7% |
| 1992 | 6.28 | -0.0% |
| 1993 | 6.16 | -2.0% |
| 1994 | 6.02 | -2.3% |
| 1995 | 5.97 | -0.8% |
| 1996 | 5.72 | -4.1% |
| 1997 | 5.54 | -3.2% |
| 1998 | 5.45 | -1.6% |
| 1999 | 5.45 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 5.19 | -4.8% |
| 2001 | 5.09 | -2.0% |
| 2002 | 4.87 | -4.3% |
| 2003 | 4.93 | +1.2% |
| 2004 | 4.79 | -2.9% |
| 2005 | 4.72 | -1.4% |
| 2006 | 4.66 | -1.3% |
| 2007 | 4.62 | -0.7% |
| 2008 | 4.54 | -1.7% |
| 2009 | 4.44 | -2.3% |
| 2010 | 4.34 | -2.2% |
| 2011 | 4.25 | -2.2% |
| 2012 | 4.18 | -1.6% |
| 2013 | 4.09 | -2.3% |
| 2014 | 4.15 | +1.5% |
| 2015 | 4.05 | -2.4% |
| 2016 | 4.09 | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 4.27 | +4.5% |
| 2018 | 4.19 | -1.9% |
| 2019 | 4.19 | -0.1% |
| 2020 | 4.5 | +7.4% |
| 2021 | 4.76 | +5.7% |
| 2022 | 5.61 | +18.0% |
| 2023 | 4.4 | -21.6% |
Canada compared with similar countries
- Canada's 4.4 is below the median for high income countries, which is 4.98, 88% of the median. (85 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Difference in female and male life expectancy at birth in Canada changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1937 | +33.6% | 2.17 | 2.9 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 2.33 | 2.13 | 2.55 | 9 |
| 1930s | 2.6 | 2.13 | 3.11 | 10 |
| 1940s | 3.67 | 3.27 | 4.22 | 10 |
| 1950s | 5.2 | 4.43 | 5.78 | 10 |
| 1960s | 6.38 | 5.93 | 6.86 | 10 |
| 1970s | 7.19 | 6.94 | 7.41 | 10 |
| 1980s | 6.78 | 6.52 | 7.12 | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.93 | 5.45 | 6.39 | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.78 | 4.44 | 5.19 | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.18 | 4.05 | 4.34 | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.82 | 4.4 | 5.61 | 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)
- Un projection of annual infant deaths 385 (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 0.5214 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.023 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.5024 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per capita 0.0242 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is difference in female and male life expectancy at birth in Canada?
- Difference in female and male life expectancy at birth in Canada was 4.4 in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest difference in female and male life expectancy at birth recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 7.41 in 1978.
- What is the lowest difference in female and male life expectancy at birth recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.13 in 1924.
- How does Canada rank for difference in female and male life expectancy at birth?
- Canada ranks 152nd out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is difference in female and male life expectancy at birth 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 Our World in Data, published as part of Difference in female and male life expectancy at birth. 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).