Healthy life expectancy in Botswana

Botswana: Healthy life expectancy was 53.1 Years in 2021. ▲ Rising

Latest (2021)
53.1 Years
Change on year
down 5.7%
World rank
171st
of 185 countries
All-time high
56.3 Years
in 2020
All-time low
40.91 Years
in 2001
Years of data
22
2000–2021

Healthy life expectancy in Botswana, 2000–2021

02040602000201020212000: 41.3 Years2001: 40.9 Years2002: 41.1 Years2003: 42.1 Years2004: 44 Years2005: 46.1 Years2006: 47.5 Years2007: 48.3 Years2008: 48.7 Years2009: 49.4 Years2010: 50.1 Years2011: 50.8 Years2012: 51.8 Years2013: 52.6 Years2014: 53.2 Years2015: 53.8 Years2016: 54.5 Years2017: 55.3 Years2018: 55.7 Years2019: 56.1 Years2020: 56.3 Years2021: 53.1 Years

Source: World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in Years.

Analysis

Botswana recorded 53.1 Years for healthy life expectancy in 2021.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 5.7% on the previous year and up 4.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, healthy life expectancy in Botswana peaked at 56.3 Years in 2020 and was at its lowest, 40.91 Years, in 2001.

That places Botswana 171st out of 185 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 44.95 Years 40.91 Years 49.4 Years 10
2010s 53.39 Years 50.08 Years 56.05 Years 10
2020s 54.7 Years 53.1 Years 56.3 Years 2

Countries ranked near Botswana

  1. 168 Equatorial Guinea 53.26 Years compare
  2. 169 Democratic Republic of Congo 53.21 Years compare
  3. 170 Sierra Leone 53.13 Years compare
  4. 172 Zambia 52.97 Years compare
  5. 173 Namibia 52.82 Years compare
  6. 174 South Africa 52.76 Years compare

See the full ranking of 185 places →

More health data for Botswana

All data for Botswana →

Frequently asked questions

What is healthy life expectancy in Botswana?
Healthy life expectancy in Botswana was 53.1 Years in 2021, according to World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest healthy life expectancy recorded in Botswana?
The highest recorded value was 56.3 Years in 2020.
What is the lowest healthy life expectancy recorded in Botswana?
The lowest recorded value was 40.91 Years in 2001.
How does Botswana rank for healthy life expectancy?
Botswana ranks 171st out of 185 countries with data for 2021.
Is healthy life expectancy rising or falling in Botswana?
Over the last ten years it is up 4.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Botswana data come from?
The figures come from World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Healthy life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Healthy life expectancy
Unit
Years
Source
World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
185 places, 4,070 data points, 2000–2021
Last refreshed

The estimated average number of years lived free from disability or disease burden. This is based on period life expectancy, after adjusting for the number of years lived in less than "full health" due to disease and/or injury.