Life expectancy in China
China: Life expectancy was 78.2 years in 2022. ▲ Rising
Life expectancy in China, 1960–2022
Source: OECD (2023) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
China recorded 78.2 years for life expectancy in 2022. That is the highest value across all 63 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 3.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy in China peaked at 78.2 years in 2022 and was at its lowest, 33.3 years, in 1960.
That places China 29th out of 49 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 63 years of available data.
Life expectancy in China, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 33.3 years | — |
| 1961 | 40.5 years | +21.6% |
| 1962 | 50.8 years | +25.4% |
| 1963 | 51.4 years | +1.2% |
| 1964 | 52.2 years | +1.6% |
| 1965 | 52.9 years | +1.3% |
| 1966 | 53.6 years | +1.3% |
| 1967 | 54.4 years | +1.5% |
| 1968 | 55.1 years | +1.3% |
| 1969 | 55.7 years | +1.1% |
| 1970 | 59.1 years | +6.1% |
| 1971 | 56.6 years | -4.2% |
| 1972 | 57.6 years | +1.8% |
| 1973 | 58.4 years | +1.4% |
| 1974 | 59.4 years | +1.7% |
| 1975 | 60.2 years | +1.3% |
| 1976 | 60.9 years | +1.2% |
| 1977 | 61.8 years | +1.5% |
| 1978 | 62.5 years | +1.1% |
| 1979 | 63.2 years | +1.1% |
| 1980 | 63.9 years | +1.1% |
| 1981 | 64.4 years | +0.8% |
| 1982 | 65 years | +0.9% |
| 1983 | 65.5 years | +0.8% |
| 1984 | 65.9 years | +0.6% |
| 1985 | 66.3 years | +0.6% |
| 1986 | 66.6 years | +0.5% |
| 1987 | 67 years | +0.6% |
| 1988 | 67.3 years | +0.4% |
| 1989 | 67.6 years | +0.4% |
| 1990 | 67.8 years | +0.3% |
| 1991 | 68 years | +0.3% |
| 1992 | 68.2 years | +0.3% |
| 1993 | 68.7 years | +0.7% |
| 1994 | 69.2 years | +0.7% |
| 1995 | 69.5 years | +0.4% |
| 1996 | 70 years | +0.7% |
| 1997 | 70.3 years | +0.4% |
| 1998 | 70.7 years | +0.6% |
| 1999 | 71.2 years | +0.7% |
| 2000 | 71.4 years | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 71.9 years | +0.7% |
| 2002 | 72.6 years | +1.0% |
| 2003 | 73 years | +0.6% |
| 2004 | 73.4 years | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 73.7 years | +0.4% |
| 2006 | 74.1 years | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 74.5 years | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 74.8 years | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 74.9 years | +0.1% |
| 2010 | 75.3 years | +0.5% |
| 2011 | 75.6 years | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 75.9 years | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 76.2 years | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 76.5 years | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 76.7 years | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 77 years | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 77.2 years | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 77.2 years | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 77.7 years | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 78 years | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 78.1 years | +0.1% |
| 2022 | 78.2 years | +0.1% |
China compared with similar countries
- China's 78.2 years is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 75.4 years, 1.0× the median. (9 countries reporting)
- China's 78.2 years is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 82.8 years, 94% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Life expectancy in China changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | +25.4% | 40.5 years | 50.8 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 49.99 years | 33.3 years | 55.7 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 59.97 years | 56.6 years | 63.2 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 65.95 years | 63.9 years | 67.6 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 69.36 years | 67.8 years | 71.2 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 73.43 years | 71.4 years | 74.9 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 76.53 years | 75.3 years | 77.7 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 78.1 years | 78 years | 78.2 years | 3 |
Countries ranked near China
More health data for China
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.15 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate -0.0985 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 2,029 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 4,642 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 10 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -8.22 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0159 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -8.73 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy in China?
- Life expectancy in China was 78.2 years in 2022, according to OECD (2023) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- 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 33.3 years in 1960.
- How does China rank for life expectancy?
- China ranks 29th out of 49 countries with data for 2022.
- Is life expectancy rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from OECD (2023) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 63 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Period life expectancy at birth, in a given year.