Life expectancy at birth in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Life expectancy at birth was 66.13 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
66.13 years
Change on year
up 1.3%
World rank
202nd
of 236 countries
All-time high
66.13 years
in 2023
All-time low
35.48 years
in 1951
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Life expectancy at birth in Papua New Guinea, 1950–2023
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2023, life expectancy at birth in Papua New Guinea stood at 66.13 years. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.3% on the previous year and up 3.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy at birth in Papua New Guinea peaked at 66.13 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 35.48 years, in 1951.
That places Papua New Guinea 202nd out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.
Life expectancy at birth in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 39.36 years | — |
| 1951 | 35.48 years | -9.8% |
| 1952 | 40.68 years | +14.6% |
| 1953 | 41.34 years | +1.6% |
| 1954 | 41.95 years | +1.5% |
| 1955 | 42.62 years | +1.6% |
| 1956 | 43.26 years | +1.5% |
| 1957 | 43.91 years | +1.5% |
| 1958 | 44.56 years | +1.5% |
| 1959 | 45.14 years | +1.3% |
| 1960 | 45.8 years | +1.5% |
| 1961 | 46.42 years | +1.4% |
| 1962 | 46.71 years | +0.6% |
| 1963 | 47.67 years | +2.1% |
| 1964 | 48.3 years | +1.3% |
| 1965 | 48.93 years | +1.3% |
| 1966 | 49.57 years | +1.3% |
| 1967 | 50.25 years | +1.4% |
| 1968 | 50.88 years | +1.3% |
| 1969 | 51.52 years | +1.3% |
| 1970 | 52.14 years | +1.2% |
| 1971 | 52.59 years | +0.9% |
| 1972 | 53.25 years | +1.2% |
| 1973 | 53.85 years | +1.1% |
| 1974 | 54.44 years | +1.1% |
| 1975 | 54.98 years | +1.0% |
| 1976 | 55.53 years | +1.0% |
| 1977 | 56.05 years | +0.9% |
| 1978 | 56.52 years | +0.8% |
| 1979 | 56.97 years | +0.8% |
| 1980 | 57.39 years | +0.7% |
| 1981 | 57.76 years | +0.6% |
| 1982 | 58.08 years | +0.5% |
| 1983 | 58.29 years | +0.4% |
| 1984 | 58.58 years | +0.5% |
| 1985 | 58.8 years | +0.4% |
| 1986 | 59.02 years | +0.4% |
| 1987 | 59.23 years | +0.4% |
| 1988 | 59.38 years | +0.3% |
| 1989 | 59.6 years | +0.4% |
| 1990 | 59.78 years | +0.3% |
| 1991 | 59.94 years | +0.3% |
| 1992 | 60.26 years | +0.5% |
| 1993 | 60.47 years | +0.3% |
| 1994 | 60.73 years | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 60.93 years | +0.3% |
| 1996 | 61.07 years | +0.2% |
| 1997 | 61.27 years | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 60.44 years | -1.4% |
| 1999 | 61.51 years | +1.8% |
| 2000 | 61.61 years | +0.2% |
| 2001 | 61.65 years | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 61.64 years | -0.0% |
| 2003 | 61.74 years | +0.2% |
| 2004 | 61.8 years | +0.1% |
| 2005 | 61.87 years | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 62.02 years | +0.2% |
| 2007 | 62.21 years | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 62.51 years | +0.5% |
| 2009 | 62.77 years | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 63.06 years | +0.5% |
| 2011 | 63.38 years | +0.5% |
| 2012 | 63.64 years | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 63.93 years | +0.5% |
| 2014 | 64.2 years | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 64.47 years | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 64.7 years | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 64.92 years | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 65.11 years | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 65.33 years | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 65.08 years | -0.4% |
| 2021 | 64.36 years | -1.1% |
| 2022 | 65.27 years | +1.4% |
| 2023 | 66.13 years | +1.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 41.83 years | 35.48 years | 45.14 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 48.61 years | 45.8 years | 51.52 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 54.63 years | 52.14 years | 56.97 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 58.61 years | 57.39 years | 59.6 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 60.64 years | 59.78 years | 61.51 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 61.98 years | 61.61 years | 62.77 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 64.27 years | 63.06 years | 65.33 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 65.21 years | 64.36 years | 66.13 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
More health data for Papua New Guinea
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.77 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.3741 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,127 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 2,501 deaths (2100)
- Total tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 27 (2025)
- Total tetanus - number of reported cases, per capita 0 units per person (2025)
- Diphtheria - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Diphtheria - number of reported cases, per capita 0 units per person (2025)
- Measles - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Measles - number of reported cases, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy at birth in Papua New Guinea?
- Life expectancy at birth in Papua New Guinea was 66.13 years in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest life expectancy at birth recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 66.13 years in 2023.
- What is the lowest life expectancy at birth recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 35.48 years in 1951.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for life expectancy at birth?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 202nd out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is life expectancy at birth rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea 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. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Period life expectancy at birth.