Difference in female and male life expectancy at birth in Italy

Italy: Difference in female and male life expectancy at birth was 4.18 in 2023. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2023)
4.18
Change on year
down 14.4%
World rank
167th
of 236 countries
All-time high
16.43
in 1917
All-time low
-0.25
in 1885
Years of data
152
1872–2023

Difference in female and male life expectancy at birth in Italy, 1872–2023

051015187219472023

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

Italy recorded 4.18 for difference in female and male life expectancy at birth in 2023.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 14.4% on the previous year and down 11.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, difference in female and male life expectancy at birth in Italy peaked at 16.43 in 1917 and was at its lowest, -0.25, in 1885.

Italy ranks 167th of 236 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Difference in female and male life expectancy at birth in Italy, year by year

Annual values for Difference in female and male life expectancy at birth in Italy, 1872 to 2023.
Year Value Change
1872 0.98 —
1873 0.35 -64.3%
1874 0.4 +14.3%
1875 0.53 +32.5%
1876 0.64 +20.8%
1877 0.45 -29.7%
1878 0.38 -15.6%
1879 0.32 -15.8%
1880 0.74 +131.3%
1881 0.41 -44.6%
1882 0.49 +19.5%
1883 -0.01 -102.0%
1884 -0.01 -0.0%
1885 -0.25 +2400.4%
1886 -0.17 -32.0%
1887 -0.11 -35.3%
1888 0.09 -181.8%
1889 -0.02 -122.2%
1890 0.06 -400.0%
1891 0 -100.0%
1892 0.05 —
1893 0.26 +420.0%
1894 0.18 -30.8%
1895 0.49 +172.2%
1896 0.52 +6.1%
1897 0.14 -73.1%
1898 0.42 +200.0%
1899 0.22 -47.6%
1900 0.23 +4.5%
1901 0.49 +113.0%
1902 0.34 -30.6%
1903 0.52 +52.9%
1904 0.42 -19.2%
1905 0.5 +19.0%
1906 0.61 +22.0%
1907 0.53 -13.1%
1908 0.76 +43.4%
1909 1.13 +48.7%
1910 0.82 -27.4%
1911 0.48 -41.5%
1912 0.95 +97.9%
1913 0.77 -18.9%
1914 0.93 +20.8%
1915 8.41 +804.3%
1916 12.69 +50.9%
1917 16.43 +29.5%
1918 4.82 -70.7%
1919 6.26 +29.9%
1920 1.07 -82.9%
1921 1.53 +43.0%
1922 1.4 -8.5%
1923 1.19 -15.0%
1924 1.52 +27.7%
1925 1.88 +23.7%
1926 1.66 -11.7%
1927 1.6 -3.6%
1928 1.81 +13.1%
1929 2.05 +13.3%
1930 2.18 +6.3%
1931 2.12 -2.8%
1932 2.42 +14.2%
1933 2.4 -0.8%
1934 2.48 +3.3%
1935 2.62 +5.6%
1936 2.87 +9.5%
1937 2.81 -2.1%
1938 2.79 -0.7%
1939 2.85 +2.2%
1940 4.14 +45.3%
1941 6.89 +66.4%
1942 9.74 +41.4%
1943 12.67 +30.1%
1944 9.31 -26.5%
1945 7.39 -20.6%
1946 3.22 -56.4%
1947 3.49 +8.4%
1948 3.04 -12.9%
1949 3 -1.3%
1950 3.49 +16.2%
1951 3.52 +1.1%
1952 3.62 +2.7%
1953 3.69 +1.9%
1954 4.1 +11.1%
1955 4.27 +4.3%
1956 4.38 +2.6%
1957 4.66 +6.4%
1958 4.71 +0.9%
1959 4.74 +0.6%
1960 5 +5.7%
1961 5.31 +6.2%
1962 5.36 +0.8%
1963 5.5 +2.6%
1964 5.6 +1.9%
1965 5.6 +0.0%
1966 5.66 +1.0%
1967 5.62 -0.8%
1968 5.74 +2.2%
1969 6 +4.5%
1970 5.84 -2.6%
1971 6 +2.7%
1972 6.12 +2.0%
1973 6.04 -1.3%
1974 6.2 +2.7%
1975 6.36 +2.6%
1976 6.41 +0.8%
1977 6.59 +2.7%
1978 6.71 +1.9%
1979 6.76 +0.7%
1980 6.75 -0.1%
1981 6.66 -1.5%
1982 6.59 -1.0%
1983 6.55 -0.6%
1984 6.62 +1.0%
1985 6.52 -1.4%
1986 6.5 -0.4%
1987 6.54 +0.6%
1988 6.5 -0.5%
1989 6.56 +1.0%
1990 6.62 +0.8%
1991 6.71 +1.4%
1992 6.68 -0.4%
1993 6.47 -3.3%
1994 6.51 +0.6%
1995 6.56 +0.8%
1996 6.36 -3.1%
1997 6.24 -1.9%
1998 6.18 -0.9%
1999 6.13 -0.8%
2000 5.96 -2.8%
2001 5.99 +0.4%
2002 5.88 -1.8%
2003 5.55 -5.6%
2004 5.7 +2.7%
2005 5.51 -3.4%
2006 5.49 -0.4%
2007 5.3 -3.5%
2008 5.19 -2.0%
2009 5.04 -3.0%
2010 4.98 -1.1%
2011 4.85 -2.6%
2012 4.7 -3.1%
2013 4.7 -0.0%
2014 4.62 -1.7%
2015 4.43 -4.2%
2016 4.45 +0.4%
2017 4.41 -0.8%
2018 4.32 -2.0%
2019 4.26 -1.5%
2020 4.61 +8.3%
2021 4.47 -3.1%
2022 4.88 +9.3%
2023 4.18 -14.4%

Italy compared with similar countries

  • Italy's 4.18 is below the median for high income countries, which is 4.98, 84% of the median. (85 countries reporting)
  • Italy's 4.18 is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 5.4, 77% of the median. (56 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Difference in female and male life expectancy at birth in Italy 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.

YearChange FromTo
1885 -2400.4% -0.01 -0.25
1915 +804.3% 0.93 8.41
1893 +420.0% 0.05 0.26
1890 +400.0% -0.02 0.06
1898 +200.0% 0.14 0.42
1888 +181.8% -0.11 0.09

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1870s 0.5063 0.32 0.98 8
1880s 0.116 -0.25 0.74 10
1890s 0.234 0 0.52 10
1900s 0.553 0.23 1.13 10
1910s 5.26 0.48 16.43 10
1920s 1.57 1.07 2.05 10
1930s 2.55 2.12 2.87 10
1940s 6.29 3 12.67 10
1950s 4.12 3.49 4.74 10
1960s 5.54 5 6 10
1970s 6.3 5.84 6.76 10
1980s 6.58 6.5 6.75 10
1990s 6.45 6.13 6.71 10
2000s 5.56 5.04 5.99 10
2010s 4.57 4.26 4.98 10
2020s 4.54 4.18 4.88 4

Countries ranked near Italy

  1. 164 Indonesia 4.23 compare
  2. 165 Brunei 4.23 compare
  3. 166 Isle of Man 4.21 compare
  4. 168 Yemen 4.15 compare
  5. 169 Eritrea 4.15 compare
  6. 170 Comoros 4.15 compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More health data for Italy

All data for Italy →

Frequently asked questions

What is difference in female and male life expectancy at birth in Italy?
Difference in female and male life expectancy at birth in Italy was 4.18 in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest difference in female and male life expectancy at birth recorded in Italy?
The highest recorded value was 16.43 in 1917.
What is the lowest difference in female and male life expectancy at birth recorded in Italy?
The lowest recorded value was -0.25 in 1885.
How does Italy rank for difference in female and male life expectancy at birth?
Italy ranks 167th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is difference in female and male life expectancy at birth rising or falling in Italy?
Over the last ten years it is down 11.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Italy 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 — 152 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Difference in female and male life expectancy at birth in Italy. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 10 November 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/difference-in-female-and-male-life-expectancy-at-birth/italy/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://health.statizoid.com/stat/difference-in-female-and-male-life-expectancy-at-birth/italy/">Difference in female and male life expectancy at birth in Italy</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Difference in female and male life expectancy at birth
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
236 places, 18,722 data points, 1751–2023
Last refreshed