Life expectancy in France
France: Life expectancy was 82.4 years in 2021. ▲ Rising
Life expectancy in France, 1960–2021
Source: OECD (2023) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for life expectancy in France is 82.4 years, measured in 2021.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 0.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy in France peaked at 83 years in 2019 and was at its lowest, 70.3 years, in 1960.
That places France 12th out of 49 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 62 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 71.08 years | 70.3 years | 71.5 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 73.01 years | 72.1 years | 74.2 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 75.44 years | 74.3 years | 76.7 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 77.98 years | 77 years | 78.9 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 80.33 years | 79.2 years | 81.6 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 82.52 years | 81.9 years | 83 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 82.35 years | 82.3 years | 82.4 years | 2 |
Countries ranked near France
More health data for France
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,016 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 603 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 410,003 (2025)
- Age population, age 25, female, interpolated 393,149 (2025)
- Age population, age 24, male, interpolated 422,126 (2025)
- Age population, age 24, female, interpolated 401,629 (2025)
- Age population, age 23, male, interpolated 424,323 (2025)
- Age population, age 23, female, interpolated 402,563 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy in France?
- Life expectancy in France was 82.4 years in 2021, according to OECD (2023) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest life expectancy recorded in France?
- The highest recorded value was 83 years in 2019.
- What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in France?
- The lowest recorded value was 70.3 years in 1960.
- How does France rank for life expectancy?
- France ranks 12th out of 49 countries with data for 2021.
- Is life expectancy rising or falling in France?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this France 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 — 62 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.