Life expectancy at birth, by sex in Zambia
Zambia: Life expectancy at birth, by sex was 63.94 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
63.94 years
Change on year
up 1.9%
World rank
198th
of 236 countries
All-time high
63.94 years
in 2023
All-time low
44.71 years
in 1996
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Life expectancy at birth, by sex in Zambia, 1950–2023
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
Zambia recorded 63.94 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 1.9% on the previous year and up 11.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy at birth, by sex in Zambia peaked at 63.94 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 44.71 years, in 1996.
Zambia ranks 198th of 236 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.
Life expectancy at birth, by sex in Zambia, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 45.71 years | — |
| 1951 | 46.12 years | +0.9% |
| 1952 | 46.54 years | +0.9% |
| 1953 | 46.96 years | +0.9% |
| 1954 | 47.36 years | +0.8% |
| 1955 | 47.73 years | +0.8% |
| 1956 | 48.09 years | +0.8% |
| 1957 | 48.42 years | +0.7% |
| 1958 | 48.8 years | +0.8% |
| 1959 | 49.16 years | +0.7% |
| 1960 | 49.58 years | +0.9% |
| 1961 | 50 years | +0.8% |
| 1962 | 50.26 years | +0.5% |
| 1963 | 50.56 years | +0.6% |
| 1964 | 49.85 years | -1.4% |
| 1965 | 50.95 years | +2.2% |
| 1966 | 51.15 years | +0.4% |
| 1967 | 51.34 years | +0.4% |
| 1968 | 51.53 years | +0.4% |
| 1969 | 51.84 years | +0.6% |
| 1970 | 52.22 years | +0.7% |
| 1971 | 52.68 years | +0.9% |
| 1972 | 53.14 years | +0.9% |
| 1973 | 53.72 years | +1.1% |
| 1974 | 54.16 years | +0.8% |
| 1975 | 54.48 years | +0.6% |
| 1976 | 54.75 years | +0.5% |
| 1977 | 54.84 years | +0.1% |
| 1978 | 54.85 years | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 54.39 years | -0.9% |
| 1980 | 53.79 years | -1.1% |
| 1981 | 53.23 years | -1.1% |
| 1982 | 52.53 years | -1.3% |
| 1983 | 51.93 years | -1.1% |
| 1984 | 51.09 years | -1.6% |
| 1985 | 50.23 years | -1.7% |
| 1986 | 49.46 years | -1.5% |
| 1987 | 48.83 years | -1.3% |
| 1988 | 48.2 years | -1.3% |
| 1989 | 47.47 years | -1.5% |
| 1990 | 46.91 years | -1.2% |
| 1991 | 46.2 years | -1.5% |
| 1992 | 45.75 years | -1.0% |
| 1993 | 45.43 years | -0.7% |
| 1994 | 45.2 years | -0.5% |
| 1995 | 44.92 years | -0.6% |
| 1996 | 44.71 years | -0.4% |
| 1997 | 44.72 years | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 44.8 years | +0.2% |
| 1999 | 45.12 years | +0.7% |
| 2000 | 45.8 years | +1.5% |
| 2001 | 46.65 years | +1.9% |
| 2002 | 47.7 years | +2.3% |
| 2003 | 48.72 years | +2.1% |
| 2004 | 49.9 years | +2.4% |
| 2005 | 51.03 years | +2.3% |
| 2006 | 51.93 years | +1.8% |
| 2007 | 52.88 years | +1.8% |
| 2008 | 53.69 years | +1.5% |
| 2009 | 54.72 years | +1.9% |
| 2010 | 55.48 years | +1.4% |
| 2011 | 56.19 years | +1.3% |
| 2012 | 56.95 years | +1.4% |
| 2013 | 57.62 years | +1.2% |
| 2014 | 58.09 years | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 58.55 years | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 58.92 years | +0.6% |
| 2017 | 59.21 years | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 59.69 years | +0.8% |
| 2019 | 60.35 years | +1.1% |
| 2020 | 60.73 years | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 59.79 years | -1.5% |
| 2022 | 62.77 years | +5.0% |
| 2023 | 63.94 years | +1.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 47.49 years | 45.71 years | 49.16 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 50.7 years | 49.58 years | 51.84 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 53.92 years | 52.22 years | 54.85 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 50.68 years | 47.47 years | 53.79 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 45.38 years | 44.71 years | 46.91 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 50.3 years | 45.8 years | 54.72 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 58.1 years | 55.48 years | 60.35 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 61.81 years | 59.79 years | 63.94 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Zambia
More health data for Zambia
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.09 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.7971 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 809.3 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 8,894 deaths (2100)
- Population ages 05-09, female, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, female, per capita 0.0677 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, male, annual growth rate 1.59 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, male, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, male, per capita 0.0677 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 10-14, female, annual growth rate 1.51 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy at birth, by sex in Zambia?
- Life expectancy at birth, by sex in Zambia was 63.94 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 Zambia?
- The highest recorded value was 63.94 years in 2023.
- What is the lowest life expectancy at birth, by sex recorded in Zambia?
- The lowest recorded value was 44.71 years in 1996.
- How does Zambia rank for life expectancy at birth, by sex?
- Zambia ranks 198th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is life expectancy at birth, by sex rising or falling in Zambia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zambia 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.