Life expectancy in China

China: Life expectancy was 78 Years in 2024. β–² Rising

Latest (2024)
78 Years
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
27th
of 41 countries
All-time high
78.2 Years
in 2022
All-time low
33.4 Years
in 1960
Years of data
65
1960–2024

Life expectancy in China, 1960–2024

020406080196019922024

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Years.

Analysis

In 2024, life expectancy in China stood at 78 Years.

The figure is up 1.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, life expectancy in China peaked at 78.2 Years in 2022 and was at its lowest, 33.4 Years, in 1960.

That places China 27th out of 41 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 65 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 50.09 Years 33.4 Years 56 Years 10
1970s 60.43 Years 56.8 Years 63.7 Years 10
1980s 66.22 Years 64.2 Years 67.9 Years 10
1990s 70.12 Years 68.2 Years 72 Years 10
2000s 73.85 Years 72.3 Years 75.3 Years 10
2010s 76.8 Years 75.7 Years 77.9 Years 10
2020s 78.06 Years 78 Years 78.2 Years 5

Countries ranked near China

  1. 24 Costa Rica 81.1 Years compare
  2. 25 Czechia 80.1 Years compare
  3. 26 United States 79 Years compare
  4. 28 Argentina 77.5 Years compare
  5. 28 Peru 77.5 Years compare
  6. 30 Hungary 76.8 Years compare

See the full ranking of 51 places β†’

More health data for China

All data for China β†’

Frequently asked questions

What is life expectancy in China?
Life expectancy in China was 78 Years in 2024, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest life expectancy recorded in China?
The highest recorded value was 78.2 Years in 2022.
What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in China?
The lowest recorded value was 33.4 Years in 1960.
How does China rank for life expectancy?
China ranks 27th out of 41 countries with data for 2024.
Is life expectancy rising or falling in China?
Over the last ten years it is up 1.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this China data come from?
The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV Β· JSON β€” 65 observations, free to reuse under OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Life expectancy in China. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 20 August 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/life-expectancy-2/china/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://health.statizoid.com/stat/life-expectancy-2/china/">Life expectancy in China</a> β€” Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Life expectancy
Unit
Years
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
51 places, 3,041 data points, 1960–2025
Last refreshed

This dataset presents data on life expectancy at birth, and at ages 40, 60, 65 and 80 years old. Please refer to the Sources and Methods for detailed country-specific information.