Life expectancy at birth, total (years) (Life World Population) in Benin

Benin: Life expectancy at birth, total (years) (Life World Population) was 60.96 years in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
60.96 years
Change on year
up 0.3%
World rank
210th
of 218 countries
All-time high
60.96 years
in 2024
All-time low
38.77 years
in 1960
Years of data
65
1960–2024

Life expectancy at birth, total in Benin, 1960–2024

0204060196019922024

Source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in years.

Analysis

In 2024, life expectancy at birth, total in Benin stood at 60.96 years. That is the highest value across all 65 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 3.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, life expectancy at birth, total in Benin peaked at 60.96 years in 2024 and was at its lowest, 38.77 years, in 1960.

That places Benin 210th out of 218 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 65 years of available data.

Life expectancy at birth, total (years) (Life World Population) in Benin, year by year

Annual values for Life expectancy at birth, total (years) in Benin, 1960 to 2024.
Year years Change
1960 38.77 years —
1961 39.23 years +1.2%
1962 39.64 years +1.0%
1963 40.08 years +1.1%
1964 40.5 years +1.1%
1965 40.97 years +1.2%
1966 41.27 years +0.7%
1967 41.76 years +1.2%
1968 42.18 years +1.0%
1969 42.59 years +1.0%
1970 43.03 years +1.0%
1971 43.39 years +0.8%
1972 43.93 years +1.2%
1973 44.44 years +1.2%
1974 44.88 years +1.0%
1975 45.41 years +1.2%
1976 45.95 years +1.2%
1977 46.5 years +1.2%
1978 46.94 years +0.9%
1979 47.36 years +0.9%
1980 47.75 years +0.8%
1981 48.12 years +0.8%
1982 48.49 years +0.8%
1983 48.84 years +0.7%
1984 49.4 years +1.1%
1985 49.96 years +1.1%
1986 50.63 years +1.3%
1987 51.26 years +1.2%
1988 52.02 years +1.5%
1989 52.45 years +0.8%
1990 53.02 years +1.1%
1991 53.44 years +0.8%
1992 54.14 years +1.3%
1993 54.61 years +0.9%
1994 54.99 years +0.7%
1995 55.37 years +0.7%
1996 55.65 years +0.5%
1997 55.99 years +0.6%
1998 56.15 years +0.3%
1999 56.34 years +0.3%
2000 56.59 years +0.5%
2001 56.65 years +0.1%
2002 56.85 years +0.3%
2003 57.09 years +0.4%
2004 57.35 years +0.4%
2005 57.74 years +0.7%
2006 57.97 years +0.4%
2007 58.25 years +0.5%
2008 58.1 years -0.3%
2009 58.26 years +0.3%
2010 58.39 years +0.2%
2011 58.46 years +0.1%
2012 58.56 years +0.2%
2013 58.86 years +0.5%
2014 59.01 years +0.2%
2015 59.12 years +0.2%
2016 59.28 years +0.3%
2017 59.53 years +0.4%
2018 59.71 years +0.3%
2019 59.89 years +0.3%
2020 60.15 years +0.4%
2021 59.61 years -0.9%
2022 60.48 years +1.5%
2023 60.77 years +0.5%
2024 60.96 years +0.3%

Benin compared with similar countries

  • Benin's 60.96 years is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 67.9 years, 90% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
  • Benin's 60.96 years is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 64.26 years, 95% of the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 40.7 years 38.77 years 42.59 years 10
1970s 45.18 years 43.03 years 47.36 years 10
1980s 49.89 years 47.75 years 52.45 years 10
1990s 54.97 years 53.02 years 56.34 years 10
2000s 57.48 years 56.59 years 58.26 years 10
2010s 59.08 years 58.39 years 59.89 years 10
2020s 60.39 years 59.61 years 60.96 years 5

Countries ranked near Benin

  1. 207 Sierra Leone 61.96 years compare
  2. 208 Niger 61.43 years compare
  3. 209 Burkina Faso 61.29 years compare
  4. 211 Guinea 60.9 years compare
  5. 212 Mali 60.67 years compare
  6. 213 Somalia 58.97 years compare

See the full ranking of 266 places →

More health data for Benin

All data for Benin →

Frequently asked questions

What is life expectancy at birth, total in Benin?
Life expectancy at birth, total in Benin was 60.96 years in 2024, according to World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN).
What is the highest life expectancy at birth, total recorded in Benin?
The highest recorded value was 60.96 years in 2024.
What is the lowest life expectancy at birth, total recorded in Benin?
The lowest recorded value was 38.77 years in 1960.
How does Benin rank for life expectancy at birth, total?
Benin ranks 210th out of 218 countries with data for 2024.
Is life expectancy at birth, total rising or falling in Benin?
Over the last ten years it is up 3.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Benin data come from?
The figures come from World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Life expectancy at birth, total (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Life expectancy at birth, total in Benin. Statizoid, drawing on World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN). Retrieved 10 October 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/life-expectancy-at-birth-total-years/benin/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://health.statizoid.com/stat/life-expectancy-at-birth-total-years/benin/">Life expectancy at birth, total in Benin</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Life expectancy at birth, total (years)
Unit
years
Source
World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
266 places, 17,256 data points, 1960–2024
Last refreshed

Life expectancy at birth indicates the number of years a newborn infant would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the same throughout its life.