Sex gap in life expectancy in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: Sex gap in life expectancy was 4.79 years in 2023. ▼ Falling
Latest (2023)
4.79 years
Change on year
up 2.6%
World rank
129th
of 236 countries
All-time high
12.15 years
in 1978
All-time low
-0.0021 years
in 2007
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Sex gap in life expectancy in Zimbabwe, 1950–2023
Source: Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
Zimbabwe recorded 4.79 years for sex gap in life expectancy in 2023.
That represents a change of up 2.6% on the previous year and up 72.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, sex gap in life expectancy in Zimbabwe peaked at 12.15 years in 1978 and was at its lowest, -0.0021 years, in 2007.
Zimbabwe ranks 129th of 236 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 74 years of available data.
Sex gap in life expectancy in Zimbabwe, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 4.51 years | — |
| 1951 | 4.49 years | -0.5% |
| 1952 | 4.49 years | +0.1% |
| 1953 | 4.51 years | +0.4% |
| 1954 | 4.54 years | +0.6% |
| 1955 | 4.6 years | +1.3% |
| 1956 | 4.65 years | +1.1% |
| 1957 | 4.7 years | +1.1% |
| 1958 | 4.81 years | +2.2% |
| 1959 | 4.85 years | +0.8% |
| 1960 | 4.89 years | +0.8% |
| 1961 | 4.95 years | +1.4% |
| 1962 | 5.03 years | +1.5% |
| 1963 | 5.11 years | +1.5% |
| 1964 | 5.18 years | +1.4% |
| 1965 | 5.24 years | +1.3% |
| 1966 | 5.31 years | +1.2% |
| 1967 | 5.39 years | +1.5% |
| 1968 | 5.47 years | +1.6% |
| 1969 | 5.41 years | -1.1% |
| 1970 | 5.41 years | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 5.41 years | -0.0% |
| 1972 | 5.41 years | -0.0% |
| 1973 | 5.81 years | +7.5% |
| 1974 | 5.83 years | +0.3% |
| 1975 | 5.87 years | +0.7% |
| 1976 | 7.08 years | +20.7% |
| 1977 | 8.32 years | +17.4% |
| 1978 | 12.15 years | +46.0% |
| 1979 | 12.12 years | -0.2% |
| 1980 | 5.98 years | -50.7% |
| 1981 | 6.13 years | +2.5% |
| 1982 | 6.23 years | +1.8% |
| 1983 | 6.54 years | +4.9% |
| 1984 | 6.57 years | +0.4% |
| 1985 | 6.81 years | +3.8% |
| 1986 | 6.97 years | +2.3% |
| 1987 | 7.12 years | +2.1% |
| 1988 | 7.08 years | -0.6% |
| 1989 | 6.89 years | -2.7% |
| 1990 | 6.41 years | -7.0% |
| 1991 | 5.95 years | -7.1% |
| 1992 | 5.45 years | -8.5% |
| 1993 | 4.84 years | -11.2% |
| 1994 | 4.38 years | -9.5% |
| 1995 | 4.01 years | -8.3% |
| 1996 | 4.2 years | +4.5% |
| 1997 | 3.13 years | -25.4% |
| 1998 | 3.13 years | +0.2% |
| 1999 | 2.78 years | -11.3% |
| 2000 | 2.46 years | -11.4% |
| 2001 | 1.13 years | -54.2% |
| 2002 | 1.66 years | +46.8% |
| 2003 | 0.8466 years | -48.9% |
| 2004 | 0.8524 years | +0.7% |
| 2005 | 0.8072 years | -5.3% |
| 2006 | 0.4945 years | -38.7% |
| 2007 | -0.0021 years | -100.4% |
| 2008 | 0.5026 years | -24011.8% |
| 2009 | 1.04 years | +107.6% |
| 2010 | 1.46 years | +39.7% |
| 2011 | 2.71 years | +85.8% |
| 2012 | 2.54 years | -6.2% |
| 2013 | 2.77 years | +9.1% |
| 2014 | 2.94 years | +5.9% |
| 2015 | 3.16 years | +7.5% |
| 2016 | 3.46 years | +9.5% |
| 2017 | 3.71 years | +7.2% |
| 2018 | 3.89 years | +4.8% |
| 2019 | 4.22 years | +8.5% |
| 2020 | 4.66 years | +10.4% |
| 2021 | 4.57 years | -1.8% |
| 2022 | 4.66 years | +2.0% |
| 2023 | 4.79 years | +2.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 4.62 years | 4.49 years | 4.85 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 5.2 years | 4.89 years | 5.47 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 7.34 years | 5.41 years | 12.15 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 6.63 years | 5.98 years | 7.12 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.43 years | 2.78 years | 6.41 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.9796 years | -0.0021 years | 2.46 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.09 years | 1.46 years | 4.22 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.67 years | 4.57 years | 4.79 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Zimbabwe
More health data for Zimbabwe
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.39 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 1.11 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 874.6 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 4,457 deaths (2100)
- Total tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 2 (2025)
- Total tetanus - number of reported cases, per capita 0 units per person (2025)
- Diphtheria - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Diphtheria - number of reported cases, per capita 0 units per person (2025)
- Measles - number of reported cases, gaps filled 1,671 (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 Zimbabwe?
- Sex gap in life expectancy in Zimbabwe was 4.79 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 Zimbabwe?
- The highest recorded value was 12.15 years in 1978.
- What is the lowest sex gap in life expectancy recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.0021 years in 2007.
- How does Zimbabwe rank for sex gap in life expectancy?
- Zimbabwe ranks 129th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is sex gap in life expectancy rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
- Over the last ten years it is up 72.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Zimbabwe 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
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About this data
Difference in period life expectancy (females - males) at a given age.