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

Denmark: Life expectancy at birth, total (years) (Life World Population) was 82.25 years in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
82.25 years
Change on year
up 0.6%
World rank
33rd
of 218 countries
All-time high
82.25 years
in 2024
All-time low
72.18 years
in 1960
Years of data
65
1960–2024

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

020406080196019922024

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

Analysis

Denmark recorded 82.25 years for life expectancy at birth, total in 2024. That is the highest value across all 65 years on record.

The figure is up 0.6% on the previous year and up 1.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, life expectancy at birth, total in Denmark peaked at 82.25 years in 2024 and was at its lowest, 72.18 years, in 1960.

That places Denmark 33rd out of 218 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 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 Denmark, year by year

Annual values for Life expectancy at birth, total (years) in Denmark, 1960 to 2024.
Year years Change
1960 72.18 years —
1961 72.44 years +0.4%
1962 72.32 years -0.2%
1963 72.4 years +0.1%
1964 72.49 years +0.1%
1965 72.37 years -0.2%
1966 72.44 years +0.1%
1967 72.92 years +0.7%
1968 73.12 years +0.3%
1969 73.22 years +0.1%
1970 73.34 years +0.2%
1971 73.41 years +0.1%
1972 73.44 years +0.0%
1973 73.68 years +0.3%
1974 73.81 years +0.2%
1975 74.08 years +0.4%
1976 73.74 years -0.5%
1977 74.63 years +1.2%
1978 74.39 years -0.3%
1979 74.22 years -0.2%
1980 74.1 years -0.2%
1981 74.23 years +0.2%
1982 74.55 years +0.4%
1983 74.42 years -0.2%
1984 74.56 years +0.2%
1985 74.43 years -0.2%
1986 74.58 years +0.2%
1987 74.69 years +0.1%
1988 74.77 years +0.1%
1989 74.8 years +0.0%
1990 74.81 years +0.0%
1991 75.16 years +0.5%
1992 75.19 years +0.0%
1993 75.12 years -0.1%
1994 75.38 years +0.3%
1995 75.21 years -0.2%
1996 75.59 years +0.5%
1997 75.95 years +0.5%
1998 76.14 years +0.3%
1999 76.34 years +0.3%
2000 76.59 years +0.3%
2001 76.79 years +0.3%
2002 76.9 years +0.1%
2003 77.14 years +0.3%
2004 77.49 years +0.5%
2005 77.84 years +0.5%
2006 78.1 years +0.3%
2007 78.2 years +0.1%
2008 78.45 years +0.3%
2009 78.6 years +0.2%
2010 79.1 years +0.6%
2011 79.8 years +0.9%
2012 80.05 years +0.3%
2013 80.3 years +0.3%
2014 80.7 years +0.5%
2015 80.7 years +0.0%
2016 80.85 years +0.2%
2017 81.1 years +0.3%
2018 80.95 years -0.2%
2019 81.45 years +0.6%
2020 81.6 years +0.2%
2021 81.4 years -0.2%
2022 81.3 years -0.1%
2023 81.75 years +0.6%
2024 82.25 years +0.6%

Denmark compared with similar countries

  • Denmark's 82.25 years is above the median for high income countries, which is 81.36 years, 1.0× the median. (85 countries reporting)
  • Denmark's 82.25 years is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 79.78 years, 1.0× the median. (57 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1960s 72.59 years 72.18 years 73.22 years 10
1970s 73.87 years 73.34 years 74.63 years 10
1980s 74.51 years 74.1 years 74.8 years 10
1990s 75.49 years 74.81 years 76.34 years 10
2000s 77.61 years 76.59 years 78.6 years 10
2010s 80.5 years 79.1 years 81.45 years 10
2020s 81.66 years 81.3 years 82.25 years 5

Countries ranked near Denmark

  1. 30 Finland 82.34 years compare
  2. 31 Belgium 82.3 years compare
  3. 32 Slovenia 82.29 years compare
  4. 34 Canada 82.11 years compare
  5. 35 New Zealand 82.01 years compare
  6. 36 Austria 82 years compare

See the full ranking of 266 places →

More health data for Denmark

All data for Denmark →

Frequently asked questions

What is life expectancy at birth, total in Denmark?
Life expectancy at birth, total in Denmark was 82.25 years in 2024, according to World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN).
What is the highest life expectancy at birth, total recorded in Denmark?
The highest recorded value was 82.25 years in 2024.
What is the lowest life expectancy at birth, total recorded in Denmark?
The lowest recorded value was 72.18 years in 1960.
How does Denmark rank for life expectancy at birth, total?
Denmark ranks 33rd out of 218 countries with data for 2024.
Is life expectancy at birth, total rising or falling in Denmark?
Over the last ten years it is up 1.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Denmark 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 Denmark. Statizoid, drawing on World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN). Retrieved 11 October 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/life-expectancy-at-birth-total-years/denmark/

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/denmark/">Life expectancy at birth, total in Denmark</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.