Life expectancy in Denmark
Denmark: Life expectancy was 81.5 years in 2021. ▲ Rising
Life expectancy in Denmark, 1960–2021
Source: OECD (2023) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
Denmark recorded 81.5 years for life expectancy in 2021.
That represents a change of down 0.1% on the previous year and up 2.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy in Denmark peaked at 81.6 years in 2020 and was at its lowest, 72.4 years, in 1960.
Denmark ranks 18th of 49 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 56 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 72.8 years | 72.4 years | 73.2 years | 4 |
| 1970s | 73.9 years | 73.3 years | 74.7 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 74.62 years | 74.2 years | 74.9 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 75.64 years | 74.9 years | 76.6 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 77.91 years | 76.9 years | 79 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 80.58 years | 79.3 years | 81.5 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 81.55 years | 81.5 years | 81.6 years | 2 |
Countries ranked near Denmark
More health data for Denmark
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,179 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 31 deaths (2100)
- Deaths in armed conflicts based on where they occurred 0 deaths (2026)
- Deaths in armed conflicts by region 0 deaths (2026)
- Age population, age 25, male, interpolated 39,820 (2025)
- Age population, age 25, female, interpolated 38,653 (2025)
- Age population, age 24, male, interpolated 39,190 (2025)
- Age population, age 24, female, interpolated 38,085 (2025)
- Age population, age 23, male, interpolated 38,122 (2025)
- Age population, age 23, female, interpolated 36,778 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy in Denmark?
- Life expectancy in Denmark was 81.5 years in 2021, according to OECD (2023) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest life expectancy recorded in Denmark?
- The highest recorded value was 81.6 years in 2020.
- What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Denmark?
- The lowest recorded value was 72.4 years in 1960.
- How does Denmark rank for life expectancy?
- Denmark ranks 18th out of 49 countries with data for 2021.
- Is life expectancy rising or falling in Denmark?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Denmark 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 — 56 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The period life expectancy at birth, in a given year.