Life expectancy at birth, by sex in Denmark
Denmark: Life expectancy at birth, by sex was 80.02 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Life expectancy at birth, by sex in Denmark, 1950–2023
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
Denmark recorded 80.02 years for life expectancy at birth, by sex in 2023. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.7% on the previous year and up 2.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy at birth, by sex in Denmark peaked at 80.02 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 69.11 years, in 1950.
That places Denmark 34th out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.
Life expectancy at birth, by sex in Denmark, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 69.11 years | — |
| 1951 | 69.71 years | +0.9% |
| 1952 | 69.39 years | -0.5% |
| 1953 | 69.88 years | +0.7% |
| 1954 | 69.89 years | +0.0% |
| 1955 | 70.39 years | +0.7% |
| 1956 | 70.4 years | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 70.16 years | -0.4% |
| 1958 | 70.48 years | +0.5% |
| 1959 | 70.59 years | +0.2% |
| 1960 | 70.43 years | -0.2% |
| 1961 | 70.56 years | +0.2% |
| 1962 | 70.32 years | -0.3% |
| 1963 | 70.41 years | +0.1% |
| 1964 | 70.29 years | -0.2% |
| 1965 | 70.19 years | -0.1% |
| 1966 | 70.21 years | +0.0% |
| 1967 | 70.62 years | +0.6% |
| 1968 | 70.78 years | +0.2% |
| 1969 | 70.86 years | +0.1% |
| 1970 | 70.87 years | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 70.8 years | -0.1% |
| 1972 | 70.81 years | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 70.97 years | +0.2% |
| 1974 | 70.94 years | -0.0% |
| 1975 | 71.28 years | +0.5% |
| 1976 | 70.94 years | -0.5% |
| 1977 | 71.73 years | +1.1% |
| 1978 | 71.52 years | -0.3% |
| 1979 | 71.19 years | -0.4% |
| 1980 | 71.17 years | -0.0% |
| 1981 | 71.24 years | +0.1% |
| 1982 | 71.6 years | +0.5% |
| 1983 | 71.44 years | -0.2% |
| 1984 | 71.66 years | +0.3% |
| 1985 | 71.53 years | -0.2% |
| 1986 | 71.77 years | +0.3% |
| 1987 | 71.75 years | -0.0% |
| 1988 | 72.05 years | +0.4% |
| 1989 | 71.99 years | -0.1% |
| 1990 | 72.03 years | +0.1% |
| 1991 | 72.47 years | +0.6% |
| 1992 | 72.56 years | +0.1% |
| 1993 | 72.6 years | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 72.78 years | +0.2% |
| 1995 | 72.73 years | -0.1% |
| 1996 | 73.05 years | +0.4% |
| 1997 | 73.56 years | +0.7% |
| 1998 | 73.94 years | +0.5% |
| 1999 | 74.2 years | +0.4% |
| 2000 | 74.44 years | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 74.67 years | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 74.8 years | +0.2% |
| 2003 | 75.02 years | +0.3% |
| 2004 | 75.41 years | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 75.94 years | +0.7% |
| 2006 | 75.9 years | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 76.13 years | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 76.48 years | +0.5% |
| 2009 | 76.84 years | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 77.12 years | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 77.7 years | +0.8% |
| 2012 | 78.07 years | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 78.28 years | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 78.56 years | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 78.77 years | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 78.94 years | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 79.09 years | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 79.02 years | -0.1% |
| 2019 | 79.44 years | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 79.58 years | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 79.57 years | -0.0% |
| 2022 | 79.42 years | -0.2% |
| 2023 | 80.02 years | +0.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 70 years | 69.11 years | 70.59 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 70.47 years | 70.19 years | 70.86 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 71.1 years | 70.8 years | 71.73 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 71.62 years | 71.17 years | 72.05 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 72.99 years | 72.03 years | 74.2 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 75.56 years | 74.44 years | 76.84 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 78.5 years | 77.12 years | 79.44 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 79.65 years | 79.42 years | 80.02 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Denmark
More health data for Denmark
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -3.12 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.1019 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,179 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 31 deaths (2100)
- Population ages 50-54, male, annual growth rate 0.6078 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 50-54, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 50-54, male, per capita 0.0329 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 55-59, female, annual growth rate -2 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 55-59, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 55-59, female, per capita 0.0337 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy at birth, by sex in Denmark?
- Life expectancy at birth, by sex in Denmark was 80.02 years in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest life expectancy at birth, by sex recorded in Denmark?
- The highest recorded value was 80.02 years in 2023.
- What is the lowest life expectancy at birth, by sex recorded in Denmark?
- The lowest recorded value was 69.11 years in 1950.
- How does Denmark rank for life expectancy at birth, by sex?
- Denmark ranks 34th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is life expectancy at birth, by sex rising or falling in Denmark?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Denmark data come from?
- The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy at birth, by sex. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Period life expectancy at birth.