Life expectancy at birth, by sex in United States of America
United States of America: Life expectancy at birth, by sex was 76.86 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
76.86 years
Change on year
up 2.0%
World rank
64th
of 236 countries
All-time high
76.86 years
in 2023
All-time low
65.4 years
in 1950
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Life expectancy at birth, by sex in United States of America, 1950–2023
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
United States of America recorded 76.86 years for life expectancy at birth, by sex in 2023. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.0% on the previous year and up 0.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy at birth, by sex in United States of America peaked at 76.86 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 65.4 years, in 1950.
United States of America ranks 64th of 236 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.
Life expectancy at birth, by sex in United States of America, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 65.4 years | — |
| 1951 | 65.41 years | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 65.55 years | +0.2% |
| 1953 | 65.8 years | +0.4% |
| 1954 | 66.57 years | +1.2% |
| 1955 | 66.58 years | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 66.61 years | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 66.36 years | -0.4% |
| 1958 | 66.6 years | +0.4% |
| 1959 | 66.75 years | +0.2% |
| 1960 | 66.62 years | -0.2% |
| 1961 | 67.04 years | +0.6% |
| 1962 | 66.88 years | -0.2% |
| 1963 | 66.63 years | -0.4% |
| 1964 | 66.82 years | +0.3% |
| 1965 | 66.8 years | -0.0% |
| 1966 | 66.69 years | -0.2% |
| 1967 | 66.94 years | +0.4% |
| 1968 | 66.55 years | -0.6% |
| 1969 | 66.77 years | +0.3% |
| 1970 | 67.02 years | +0.4% |
| 1971 | 67.39 years | +0.6% |
| 1972 | 67.42 years | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 67.62 years | +0.3% |
| 1974 | 68.19 years | +0.8% |
| 1975 | 68.72 years | +0.8% |
| 1976 | 69.08 years | +0.5% |
| 1977 | 69.41 years | +0.5% |
| 1978 | 69.62 years | +0.3% |
| 1979 | 70.01 years | +0.6% |
| 1980 | 69.98 years | -0.0% |
| 1981 | 70.41 years | +0.6% |
| 1982 | 70.8 years | +0.6% |
| 1983 | 70.97 years | +0.2% |
| 1984 | 71.12 years | +0.2% |
| 1985 | 71.08 years | -0.1% |
| 1986 | 71.14 years | +0.1% |
| 1987 | 71.31 years | +0.2% |
| 1988 | 71.32 years | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 71.6 years | +0.4% |
| 1990 | 71.85 years | +0.3% |
| 1991 | 72.03 years | +0.3% |
| 1992 | 72.32 years | +0.4% |
| 1993 | 72.17 years | -0.2% |
| 1994 | 72.39 years | +0.3% |
| 1995 | 72.58 years | +0.3% |
| 1996 | 73.07 years | +0.7% |
| 1997 | 73.54 years | +0.6% |
| 1998 | 73.81 years | +0.4% |
| 1999 | 73.92 years | +0.2% |
| 2000 | 74.12 years | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 74.27 years | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 74.35 years | +0.1% |
| 2003 | 74.53 years | +0.2% |
| 2004 | 74.96 years | +0.6% |
| 2005 | 74.95 years | -0.0% |
| 2006 | 75.23 years | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 75.51 years | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 75.64 years | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 76.02 years | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 76.24 years | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 76.32 years | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 76.44 years | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 76.45 years | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 76.5 years | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 76.33 years | -0.2% |
| 2016 | 76.23 years | -0.1% |
| 2017 | 76.19 years | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 76.33 years | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 76.45 years | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 74.34 years | -2.8% |
| 2021 | 73.62 years | -1.0% |
| 2022 | 75.33 years | +2.3% |
| 2023 | 76.86 years | +2.0% |
United States of America compared with similar countries
- United States of America's 76.86 years is below the median for high income countries, which is 78.86 years, 97% of the median. (85 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 66.16 years | 65.4 years | 66.75 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 66.77 years | 66.55 years | 67.04 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 68.45 years | 67.02 years | 70.01 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 70.97 years | 69.98 years | 71.6 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 72.77 years | 71.85 years | 73.92 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 74.96 years | 74.12 years | 76.02 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 76.35 years | 76.19 years | 76.5 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 75.04 years | 73.62 years | 76.86 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near United States of America
- 61 Northern Mariana Islands 77.13 years compare
- 62 Saudi Arabia 77.1 years compare
- 63 Czechia 77 years compare
- 65 Saint Martin (French Part) 76.77 years compare
- 66 Panama 76.65 years compare
- 67 New Caledonia 76.28 years compare
More health data for United States of America
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.67 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate -0.1867 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,069 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 4,015 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2023)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 0.056 % 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 0.0261 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.1919 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy at birth, by sex in United States of America?
- Life expectancy at birth, by sex in United States of America was 76.86 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 United States of America?
- The highest recorded value was 76.86 years in 2023.
- What is the lowest life expectancy at birth, by sex recorded in United States of America?
- The lowest recorded value was 65.4 years in 1950.
- How does United States of America rank for life expectancy at birth, by sex?
- United States of America ranks 64th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is life expectancy at birth, by sex rising or falling in United States of America?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States of America 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Period life expectancy at birth.