Sex gap in life expectancy in Somalia
Somalia: Sex gap in life expectancy was 5.04 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Sex gap in life expectancy in Somalia, 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 Somalia stood at 5.04 years.
The figure is up 15.3% on the previous year and up 31.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, sex gap in life expectancy in Somalia peaked at 8.91 years in 1988 and was at its lowest, 2.36 years, in 2011.
That places Somalia 115th 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 Somalia, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 2.94 years | — |
| 1951 | 2.94 years | -0.1% |
| 1952 | 2.94 years | -0.1% |
| 1953 | 2.93 years | -0.1% |
| 1954 | 2.93 years | -0.1% |
| 1955 | 2.93 years | -0.1% |
| 1956 | 2.92 years | -0.1% |
| 1957 | 2.92 years | -0.1% |
| 1958 | 2.92 years | -0.1% |
| 1959 | 2.91 years | -0.1% |
| 1960 | 2.91 years | +0.0% |
| 1961 | 2.94 years | +0.8% |
| 1962 | 2.95 years | +0.4% |
| 1963 | 2.95 years | -0.0% |
| 1964 | 2.95 years | -0.0% |
| 1965 | 2.95 years | +0.0% |
| 1966 | 2.95 years | -0.0% |
| 1967 | 2.95 years | -0.0% |
| 1968 | 2.95 years | -0.0% |
| 1969 | 2.95 years | -0.0% |
| 1970 | 2.95 years | -0.0% |
| 1971 | 2.94 years | -0.0% |
| 1972 | 2.94 years | -0.0% |
| 1973 | 2.94 years | -0.0% |
| 1974 | 2.86 years | -2.9% |
| 1975 | 2.86 years | -0.0% |
| 1976 | 2.86 years | -0.1% |
| 1977 | 2.93 years | +2.6% |
| 1978 | 3.25 years | +11.0% |
| 1979 | 2.92 years | -10.2% |
| 1980 | 2.92 years | -0.2% |
| 1981 | 2.91 years | -0.4% |
| 1982 | 2.91 years | +0.1% |
| 1983 | 2.9 years | -0.3% |
| 1984 | 2.89 years | -0.3% |
| 1985 | 2.84 years | -1.7% |
| 1986 | 2.87 years | +1.0% |
| 1987 | 2.93 years | +2.0% |
| 1988 | 8.91 years | +204.6% |
| 1989 | 7.94 years | -10.9% |
| 1990 | 8.06 years | +1.5% |
| 1991 | 3.62 years | -55.1% |
| 1992 | 2.38 years | -34.3% |
| 1993 | 3.01 years | +26.5% |
| 1994 | 2.99 years | -0.5% |
| 1995 | 3.14 years | +4.9% |
| 1996 | 3.13 years | -0.5% |
| 1997 | 2.96 years | -5.2% |
| 1998 | 2.92 years | -1.6% |
| 1999 | 2.94 years | +1.0% |
| 2000 | 2.85 years | -3.2% |
| 2001 | 2.86 years | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 2.85 years | -0.2% |
| 2003 | 3 years | +5.1% |
| 2004 | 3.07 years | +2.3% |
| 2005 | 3.03 years | -1.4% |
| 2006 | 3.24 years | +7.1% |
| 2007 | 3.39 years | +4.4% |
| 2008 | 3.43 years | +1.2% |
| 2009 | 3.23 years | -5.7% |
| 2010 | 3.73 years | +15.3% |
| 2011 | 2.36 years | -36.8% |
| 2012 | 3.7 years | +57.0% |
| 2013 | 3.85 years | +4.0% |
| 2014 | 4.16 years | +8.2% |
| 2015 | 4.1 years | -1.6% |
| 2016 | 4.46 years | +8.8% |
| 2017 | 4.09 years | -8.2% |
| 2018 | 4.22 years | +3.0% |
| 2019 | 4.07 years | -3.5% |
| 2020 | 4.1 years | +0.8% |
| 2021 | 4.03 years | -1.8% |
| 2022 | 4.37 years | +8.4% |
| 2023 | 5.04 years | +15.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 2.93 years | 2.91 years | 2.94 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 2.94 years | 2.91 years | 2.95 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 2.95 years | 2.86 years | 3.25 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 4 years | 2.84 years | 8.91 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 3.52 years | 2.38 years | 8.06 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.09 years | 2.85 years | 3.43 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.87 years | 2.36 years | 4.46 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.38 years | 4.03 years | 5.04 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Somalia
More health data for Somalia
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.41 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.8681 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 987.7 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 32,421 deaths (2100)
- Population ages 65-69, male, annual growth rate 3.34 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 65-69, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 65-69, male, per capita 0.0052 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 70-74, female, annual growth rate 4.26 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 70-74, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 70-74, female, per capita 0.0043 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is sex gap in life expectancy in Somalia?
- Sex gap in life expectancy in Somalia was 5.04 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 Somalia?
- The highest recorded value was 8.91 years in 1988.
- What is the lowest sex gap in life expectancy recorded in Somalia?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.36 years in 2011.
- How does Somalia rank for sex gap in life expectancy?
- Somalia ranks 115th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is sex gap in life expectancy rising or falling in Somalia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 31.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Somalia 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.
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About this data
Difference in period life expectancy (females - males) at a given age.