Life expectancy, source comparison in United States

United States: Life expectancy, source comparison was 79.3 years in 2023. β–² 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, source comparison in United States, 1950–2023

020406080195019862023

Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.

Analysis

United States recorded 79.3 years for life expectancy, source comparison in 2023. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.

The figure is up 1.7% on the previous year and up 0.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, life expectancy, source comparison in United States peaked at 79.3 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 68.07 years, in 1950.

That places United States 63rd out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest 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

  1. 60 Albania 79.6 years compare
  2. 61 Panama 79.59 years compare
  3. 62 Anguilla 79.31 years compare
  4. 64 Falkland Islands 79.21 years compare
  5. 65 Estonia 79.15 years compare
  6. 66 Northern Mariana Islands 78.81 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places β†’

More health data for United States

All data for United States β†’

Frequently asked questions

What is life expectancy, source comparison in United States?
Life expectancy, source comparison 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, source comparison recorded in United States?
The highest recorded value was 79.3 years in 2023.
What is the lowest life expectancy, source comparison recorded in United States?
The lowest recorded value was 68.07 years in 1950.
How does United States rank for life expectancy, source comparison?
United States ranks 63rd out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is life expectancy, source comparison 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, source comparison. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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About this data

Indicator
Life expectancy, source comparison
Unit
years
Source
UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
236 places, 17,464 data points, 1950–2023
Last refreshed

Period life expectancy at birth.