Healthy life expectancy (HALE) at birth in Africa (WHO region)
Africa (WHO region): Healthy life expectancy (HALE) at birth was 55.16 in 2021. ▲ Rising
Latest (2021)
55.16
Change on year
down 0.8%
Rank
11th
of 11 groups
All-time high
55.81
in 2019
All-time low
45.98
in 2000
Years of data
22
2000–2021
Healthy life expectancy (HALE) at birth in Africa (WHO region), 2000–2021
Source: World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory.
Analysis
Africa (WHO region) recorded 55.16 for healthy life expectancy (hale) at birth in 2021.
The figure is down 0.8% on the previous year and up 5.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, healthy life expectancy (hale) at birth in Africa (WHO region) peaked at 55.81 in 2019 and was at its lowest, 45.98, in 2000.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.
Healthy life expectancy (HALE) at birth in Africa (WHO region), year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 45.98 | — |
| 2001 | 46.41 | +0.9% |
| 2002 | 46.75 | +0.7% |
| 2003 | 47.15 | +0.9% |
| 2004 | 47.7 | +1.2% |
| 2005 | 48.34 | +1.4% |
| 2006 | 49.03 | +1.4% |
| 2007 | 49.79 | +1.5% |
| 2008 | 50.5 | +1.4% |
| 2009 | 51.17 | +1.3% |
| 2010 | 51.8 | +1.2% |
| 2011 | 52.4 | +1.2% |
| 2012 | 52.99 | +1.1% |
| 2013 | 53.51 | +1.0% |
| 2014 | 53.92 | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 54.33 | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 54.74 | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 55.12 | +0.7% |
| 2018 | 55.48 | +0.6% |
| 2019 | 55.81 | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 55.58 | -0.4% |
| 2021 | 55.16 | -0.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 48.28 | 45.98 | 51.17 | 10 |
| 2010s | 54.01 | 51.8 | 55.81 | 10 |
| 2020s | 55.37 | 55.16 | 55.58 | 2 |
Countries ranked near Africa (WHO region)
More health data for Africa (WHO region)
- Diphtheria - number of reported cases, gaps filled 20,261 (2025)
- Total tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 20,578 (2025)
- Pertussis - number of reported cases, gaps filled 12,202 (2025)
- Measles - number of reported cases, gaps filled 179,400 (2025)
- Measles - number of reported cases, annual growth rate -8.02 % change on previous year (2025)
- Pertussis - number of reported cases, annual growth rate 160.28 % change on previous year (2025)
- Total tetanus - number of reported cases, annual growth rate 23.13 % change on previous year (2025)
- Diphtheria - number of reported cases 20,261 (2025)
- Total tetanus - number of reported cases 20,578 (2025)
- Measles - number of reported cases 179,400 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is healthy life expectancy (hale) at birth in Africa (WHO region)?
- Healthy life expectancy (hale) at birth in Africa (WHO region) was 55.16 in 2021, according to World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory.
- What is the highest healthy life expectancy (hale) at birth recorded in Africa (WHO region)?
- The highest recorded value was 55.81 in 2019.
- What is the lowest healthy life expectancy (hale) at birth recorded in Africa (WHO region)?
- The lowest recorded value was 45.98 in 2000.
- How does Africa (WHO region) rank for healthy life expectancy (hale) at birth?
- Africa (WHO region) ranks 11th out of 11 groups with data for 2021.
- Is healthy life expectancy (hale) at birth rising or falling in Africa (WHO region)?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Africa (WHO region) data come from?
- The figures come from World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory, published as part of Healthy life expectancy (HALE) at birth (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO).