Difference in male and female life expectancy in Canada
Canada: Difference in male and female life expectancy was 4.33 in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
4.33
Change on year
down 22.0%
World rank
142nd
of 236 countries
All-time high
7.17
in 1978
All-time low
0.1
in 1921
Years of data
103
1921–2023
Difference in male and female life expectancy in Canada, 1921–2023
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
Canada recorded 4.33 for difference in male and female life expectancy in 2023.
That represents a change of down 22.0% on the previous year and up 6.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, difference in male and female life expectancy in Canada peaked at 7.17 in 1978 and was at its lowest, 0.1, in 1921.
Canada ranks 142nd 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 male and female life expectancy in Canada, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1921 | 0.1 | — |
| 1922 | 0.11 | +10.0% |
| 1923 | 0.15 | +36.4% |
| 1924 | 0.31 | +106.7% |
| 1925 | 0.42 | +35.5% |
| 1926 | 0.31 | -26.2% |
| 1927 | 0.66 | +112.9% |
| 1928 | 0.83 | +25.8% |
| 1929 | 0.75 | -9.6% |
| 1930 | 0.98 | +30.7% |
| 1931 | 0.92 | -6.1% |
| 1932 | 0.7 | -23.9% |
| 1933 | 0.58 | -17.1% |
| 1934 | 1.03 | +77.6% |
| 1935 | 1.09 | +5.8% |
| 1936 | 1.02 | -6.4% |
| 1937 | 1.47 | +44.1% |
| 1938 | 1.85 | +25.9% |
| 1939 | 1.8 | -2.7% |
| 1940 | 2.15 | +19.4% |
| 1941 | 2.39 | +11.2% |
| 1942 | 2.54 | +6.3% |
| 1943 | 2.48 | -2.4% |
| 1944 | 2.29 | -7.7% |
| 1945 | 2.67 | +16.6% |
| 1946 | 2.68 | +0.4% |
| 1947 | 3.12 | +16.4% |
| 1948 | 3.27 | +4.8% |
| 1949 | 3.47 | +6.1% |
| 1950 | 3.65 | +5.1% |
| 1951 | 3.73 | +2.2% |
| 1952 | 4.33 | +16.2% |
| 1953 | 4.33 | -0.0% |
| 1954 | 4.43 | +2.4% |
| 1955 | 4.73 | +6.8% |
| 1956 | 4.8 | +1.4% |
| 1957 | 5.13 | +6.8% |
| 1958 | 5.22 | +1.8% |
| 1959 | 5.14 | -1.6% |
| 1960 | 5.38 | +4.7% |
| 1961 | 5.54 | +3.0% |
| 1962 | 5.53 | -0.2% |
| 1963 | 5.59 | +1.0% |
| 1964 | 5.99 | +7.2% |
| 1965 | 6.03 | +0.6% |
| 1966 | 6.24 | +3.5% |
| 1967 | 6.4 | +2.6% |
| 1968 | 6.38 | -0.3% |
| 1969 | 6.49 | +1.7% |
| 1970 | 6.56 | +1.1% |
| 1971 | 6.68 | +1.8% |
| 1972 | 6.74 | +0.8% |
| 1973 | 6.88 | +2.2% |
| 1974 | 6.9 | +0.3% |
| 1975 | 6.97 | +0.9% |
| 1976 | 7.04 | +1.0% |
| 1977 | 7.16 | +1.7% |
| 1978 | 7.17 | +0.2% |
| 1979 | 7.07 | -1.4% |
| 1980 | 6.9 | -2.4% |
| 1981 | 6.9 | +0.1% |
| 1982 | 6.72 | -2.7% |
| 1983 | 6.72 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 6.63 | -1.3% |
| 1985 | 6.56 | -1.0% |
| 1986 | 6.43 | -2.0% |
| 1987 | 6.41 | -0.3% |
| 1988 | 6.45 | +0.6% |
| 1989 | 6.39 | -1.0% |
| 1990 | 6.27 | -1.8% |
| 1991 | 6.18 | -1.5% |
| 1992 | 6.17 | -0.1% |
| 1993 | 6.05 | -2.0% |
| 1994 | 5.9 | -2.4% |
| 1995 | 5.89 | -0.2% |
| 1996 | 5.64 | -4.3% |
| 1997 | 5.46 | -3.2% |
| 1998 | 5.39 | -1.4% |
| 1999 | 5.36 | -0.5% |
| 2000 | 5.1 | -4.9% |
| 2001 | 5 | -2.0% |
| 2002 | 4.8 | -4.0% |
| 2003 | 4.84 | +0.9% |
| 2004 | 4.74 | -2.1% |
| 2005 | 4.63 | -2.2% |
| 2006 | 4.59 | -1.0% |
| 2007 | 4.56 | -0.5% |
| 2008 | 4.46 | -2.2% |
| 2009 | 4.4 | -1.4% |
| 2010 | 4.27 | -3.0% |
| 2011 | 4.16 | -2.4% |
| 2012 | 4.16 | -0.0% |
| 2013 | 4.06 | -2.6% |
| 2014 | 4.11 | +1.2% |
| 2015 | 4.01 | -2.4% |
| 2016 | 4.08 | +1.8% |
| 2017 | 4.22 | +3.5% |
| 2018 | 4.16 | -1.5% |
| 2019 | 4.12 | -1.1% |
| 2020 | 4.44 | +7.8% |
| 2021 | 4.69 | +5.6% |
| 2022 | 5.55 | +18.4% |
| 2023 | 4.33 | -22.0% |
Canada compared with similar countries
- Canada's 4.33 is below the median for high income countries, which is 4.91, 88% of the median. (85 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Difference in male and female life expectancy 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1927 | +112.9% | 0.31 | 0.66 |
| 1924 | +106.7% | 0.15 | 0.31 |
| 1934 | +77.6% | 0.58 | 1.03 |
| 1937 | +44.1% | 1.02 | 1.47 |
| 1923 | +36.4% | 0.11 | 0.15 |
| 1925 | +35.5% | 0.31 | 0.42 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 0.4044 | 0.1 | 0.83 | 9 |
| 1930s | 1.14 | 0.58 | 1.85 | 10 |
| 1940s | 2.71 | 2.15 | 3.47 | 10 |
| 1950s | 4.55 | 3.65 | 5.22 | 10 |
| 1960s | 5.96 | 5.38 | 6.49 | 10 |
| 1970s | 6.92 | 6.56 | 7.17 | 10 |
| 1980s | 6.61 | 6.39 | 6.9 | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.83 | 5.36 | 6.27 | 10 |
| 2000s | 4.71 | 4.4 | 5.1 | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.13 | 4.01 | 4.27 | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.75 | 4.33 | 5.55 | 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 male and female life expectancy in Canada?
- Difference in male and female life expectancy in Canada was 4.33 in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest difference in male and female life expectancy recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 7.17 in 1978.
- What is the lowest difference in male and female life expectancy recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.1 in 1921.
- How does Canada rank for difference in male and female life expectancy?
- Canada ranks 142nd out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is difference in male and female life expectancy rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.8%. 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 male and female life expectancy. 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).