Sex gap in life expectancy in Kenya
Kenya: Sex gap in life expectancy was 4.46 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
4.46 years
Change on year
down 1.9%
World rank
147th
of 236 countries
All-time high
5.1 years
in 2020
All-time low
1.43 years
in 2000
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Sex gap in life expectancy in Kenya, 1950–2023
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 Kenya stood at 4.46 years.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.9% on the previous year and up 19.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, sex gap in life expectancy in Kenya peaked at 5.1 years in 2020 and was at its lowest, 1.43 years, in 2000.
That places Kenya 147th out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.
Sex gap in life expectancy in Kenya, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 2.4 years | — |
| 1951 | 2.38 years | -0.5% |
| 1952 | 3.3 years | +38.3% |
| 1953 | 3.43 years | +4.1% |
| 1954 | 3.49 years | +1.7% |
| 1955 | 3.56 years | +2.2% |
| 1956 | 3.65 years | +2.5% |
| 1957 | 2.56 years | -30.0% |
| 1958 | 2.56 years | +0.3% |
| 1959 | 2.6 years | +1.5% |
| 1960 | 2.68 years | +2.9% |
| 1961 | 2.71 years | +1.2% |
| 1962 | 2.74 years | +1.1% |
| 1963 | 2.76 years | +0.9% |
| 1964 | 2.81 years | +1.5% |
| 1965 | 2.76 years | -1.5% |
| 1966 | 2.66 years | -3.7% |
| 1967 | 2.54 years | -4.3% |
| 1968 | 2.67 years | +5.1% |
| 1969 | 2.65 years | -0.9% |
| 1970 | 2.68 years | +1.2% |
| 1971 | 2.91 years | +8.8% |
| 1972 | 3.1 years | +6.5% |
| 1973 | 3.27 years | +5.4% |
| 1974 | 3.4 years | +3.9% |
| 1975 | 3.43 years | +0.9% |
| 1976 | 3.55 years | +3.5% |
| 1977 | 3.68 years | +3.5% |
| 1978 | 3.74 years | +1.8% |
| 1979 | 3.72 years | -0.5% |
| 1980 | 3.69 years | -0.8% |
| 1981 | 3.67 years | -0.7% |
| 1982 | 3.65 years | -0.3% |
| 1983 | 3.5 years | -4.4% |
| 1984 | 3.55 years | +1.5% |
| 1985 | 3.5 years | -1.5% |
| 1986 | 3.66 years | +4.7% |
| 1987 | 3.83 years | +4.7% |
| 1988 | 4.05 years | +5.6% |
| 1989 | 4.04 years | -0.3% |
| 1990 | 3.39 years | -16.0% |
| 1991 | 3.38 years | -0.5% |
| 1992 | 3.46 years | +2.3% |
| 1993 | 3.15 years | -8.9% |
| 1994 | 2.62 years | -16.8% |
| 1995 | 2.1 years | -19.8% |
| 1996 | 1.44 years | -31.2% |
| 1997 | 1.45 years | +0.4% |
| 1998 | 1.57 years | +8.0% |
| 1999 | 1.59 years | +1.7% |
| 2000 | 1.43 years | -10.3% |
| 2001 | 1.6 years | +11.8% |
| 2002 | 1.76 years | +10.5% |
| 2003 | 1.7 years | -3.7% |
| 2004 | 1.89 years | +11.0% |
| 2005 | 2.08 years | +10.5% |
| 2006 | 2.4 years | +15.1% |
| 2007 | 2.84 years | +18.4% |
| 2008 | 3.03 years | +6.6% |
| 2009 | 3.16 years | +4.3% |
| 2010 | 3.33 years | +5.4% |
| 2011 | 3.54 years | +6.5% |
| 2012 | 3.65 years | +3.0% |
| 2013 | 3.75 years | +2.7% |
| 2014 | 3.92 years | +4.5% |
| 2015 | 4.07 years | +4.0% |
| 2016 | 4.21 years | +3.4% |
| 2017 | 4.33 years | +2.8% |
| 2018 | 4.28 years | -1.3% |
| 2019 | 4.24 years | -0.8% |
| 2020 | 5.1 years | +20.1% |
| 2021 | 4.67 years | -8.4% |
| 2022 | 4.54 years | -2.6% |
| 2023 | 4.46 years | -1.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 2.99 years | 2.38 years | 3.65 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 2.7 years | 2.54 years | 2.81 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 3.35 years | 2.68 years | 3.74 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.71 years | 3.5 years | 4.05 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.41 years | 1.44 years | 3.46 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.19 years | 1.43 years | 3.16 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.93 years | 3.33 years | 4.33 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.69 years | 4.46 years | 5.1 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
- 144 Lao People's Democratic Republic 4.47 years compare
- 145 Turks and Caicos Islands 4.47 years compare
- 146 North Macedonia 4.46 years compare
- 148 Morocco 4.43 years compare
- 149 Macao 4.42 years compare
- 150 Cameroon 4.42 years compare
More health data for Kenya
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.44 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.6026 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,119 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 16,059 deaths (2100)
- Total tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 3,992 (2025)
- Total tetanus - number of reported cases, per capita 0.0001 units per person (2025)
- Diphtheria - number of reported cases, gaps filled 27 (2024)
- Diphtheria - number of reported cases, per capita 0 units per person (2024)
- Measles - number of reported cases, gaps filled 751 (2025)
- Measles - number of reported cases, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is sex gap in life expectancy in Kenya?
- Sex gap in life expectancy in Kenya was 4.46 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 Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 5.1 years in 2020.
- What is the lowest sex gap in life expectancy recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.43 years in 2000.
- How does Kenya rank for sex gap in life expectancy?
- Kenya ranks 147th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is sex gap in life expectancy rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is up 19.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Kenya 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 — 74 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.