Healthy life expectancy in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: Healthy life expectancy was 51.25 Years in 2021. ▲ Rising
Healthy life expectancy in Zimbabwe, 2000–2021
Source: World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in Years.
Analysis
In 2021, healthy life expectancy in Zimbabwe stood at 51.25 Years.
That represents a change of down 1.8% on the previous year and up 9.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, healthy life expectancy in Zimbabwe peaked at 52.2 Years in 2020 and was at its lowest, 39.97 Years, in 2003.
Zimbabwe ranks 178th of 185 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 41.09 Years | 39.97 Years | 43.81 Years | 10 |
| 2010s | 49.6 Years | 45.31 Years | 51.95 Years | 10 |
| 2020s | 51.72 Years | 51.25 Years | 52.2 Years | 2 |
Countries ranked near Zimbabwe
- 175 Niger 52.61 Years compare
- 176 Chad 51.52 Years compare
- 177 Guinea-Bissau 51.45 Years compare
- 179 South Sudan 50.53 Years compare
- 180 Afghanistan 50.45 Years compare
- 181 Mozambique 49.72 Years compare
More health data for Zimbabwe
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 874.6 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 4,457 deaths (2100)
- Deaths in armed conflicts based on where they occurred 0 deaths (2026)
- Deaths in armed conflicts by region 0 deaths (2026)
- Age population, age 25, male, interpolated 138,900 (2025)
- Age population, age 25, female, interpolated 148,863 (2025)
- Age population, age 24, male, interpolated 148,532 (2025)
- Age population, age 24, female, interpolated 156,495 (2025)
- Age population, age 23, male, interpolated 157,244 (2025)
- Age population, age 23, female, interpolated 163,038 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is healthy life expectancy in Zimbabwe?
- Healthy life expectancy in Zimbabwe was 51.25 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 Zimbabwe?
- The highest recorded value was 52.2 Years in 2020.
- What is the lowest healthy life expectancy recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The lowest recorded value was 39.97 Years in 2003.
- How does Zimbabwe rank for healthy life expectancy?
- Zimbabwe ranks 178th out of 185 countries with data for 2021.
- Is healthy life expectancy rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Zimbabwe 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
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.