Life expectancy at birth in United States
United States: Life expectancy at birth was 79.3 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
79.3 years
Change on year
up 1.7%
World rank
63rd
of 236 countries
All-time high
79.3 years
in 2023
All-time low
68.07 years
in 1950
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Life expectancy at birth in United States, 1950–2023
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for life expectancy at birth in United States is 79.3 years, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.7% on the previous year and up 0.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy at birth in United States peaked at 79.3 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 68.07 years, in 1950.
United States ranks 63rd of 236 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.
Life expectancy at birth in United States, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 68.07 years | — |
| 1951 | 68.17 years | +0.2% |
| 1952 | 68.38 years | +0.3% |
| 1953 | 68.71 years | +0.5% |
| 1954 | 69.5 years | +1.1% |
| 1955 | 69.56 years | +0.1% |
| 1956 | 69.64 years | +0.1% |
| 1957 | 69.42 years | -0.3% |
| 1958 | 69.67 years | +0.4% |
| 1959 | 69.9 years | +0.3% |
| 1960 | 69.83 years | -0.1% |
| 1961 | 70.25 years | +0.6% |
| 1962 | 70.12 years | -0.2% |
| 1963 | 69.94 years | -0.2% |
| 1964 | 70.2 years | +0.4% |
| 1965 | 70.25 years | +0.1% |
| 1966 | 70.21 years | -0.1% |
| 1967 | 70.52 years | +0.4% |
| 1968 | 70.2 years | -0.5% |
| 1969 | 70.48 years | +0.4% |
| 1970 | 70.73 years | +0.4% |
| 1971 | 71.1 years | +0.5% |
| 1972 | 71.18 years | +0.1% |
| 1973 | 71.4 years | +0.3% |
| 1974 | 71.96 years | +0.8% |
| 1975 | 72.54 years | +0.8% |
| 1976 | 72.84 years | +0.4% |
| 1977 | 73.23 years | +0.5% |
| 1978 | 73.41 years | +0.2% |
| 1979 | 73.83 years | +0.6% |
| 1980 | 73.73 years | -0.1% |
| 1981 | 74.12 years | +0.5% |
| 1982 | 74.46 years | +0.5% |
| 1983 | 74.55 years | +0.1% |
| 1984 | 74.67 years | +0.2% |
| 1985 | 74.65 years | -0.0% |
| 1986 | 74.73 years | +0.1% |
| 1987 | 74.86 years | +0.2% |
| 1988 | 74.83 years | -0.0% |
| 1989 | 75.11 years | +0.4% |
| 1990 | 75.37 years | +0.4% |
| 1991 | 75.52 years | +0.2% |
| 1992 | 75.78 years | +0.3% |
| 1993 | 75.57 years | -0.3% |
| 1994 | 75.74 years | +0.2% |
| 1995 | 75.85 years | +0.2% |
| 1996 | 76.17 years | +0.4% |
| 1997 | 76.5 years | +0.4% |
| 1998 | 76.66 years | +0.2% |
| 1999 | 76.67 years | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 76.81 years | +0.2% |
| 2001 | 76.92 years | +0.1% |
| 2002 | 76.99 years | +0.1% |
| 2003 | 77.14 years | +0.2% |
| 2004 | 77.53 years | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 77.53 years | -0.0% |
| 2006 | 77.8 years | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 78.05 years | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 78.13 years | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 78.48 years | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 78.67 years | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 78.7 years | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 78.82 years | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 78.82 years | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 78.88 years | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 78.72 years | -0.2% |
| 2016 | 78.69 years | -0.0% |
| 2017 | 78.65 years | -0.0% |
| 2018 | 78.8 years | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 78.92 years | +0.1% |
| 2020 | 77.01 years | -2.4% |
| 2021 | 76.38 years | -0.8% |
| 2022 | 77.98 years | +2.1% |
| 2023 | 79.3 years | +1.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 69.1 years | 68.07 years | 69.9 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 70.2 years | 69.83 years | 70.52 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 72.22 years | 70.73 years | 73.83 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 74.57 years | 73.73 years | 75.11 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 75.98 years | 75.37 years | 76.67 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 77.54 years | 76.81 years | 78.48 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 78.77 years | 78.65 years | 78.92 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 77.67 years | 76.38 years | 79.3 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near United States
More health data for United States
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.67 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate -0.1867 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,069 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 4,015 deaths (2100)
- Population ages 0-14, female, annual growth rate -0.7786 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female, per capita 0.0833 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, annual growth rate -0.7908 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, per capita 0.0877 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy at birth in United States?
- Life expectancy at birth in United States was 79.3 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 United States?
- The highest recorded value was 79.3 years in 2023.
- What is the lowest life expectancy at birth recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 68.07 years in 1950.
- How does United States rank for life expectancy at birth?
- United States ranks 63rd out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is life expectancy at birth rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States 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.