Life expectancy at birth, total in European Union
European Union: Life expectancy at birth, total was 81.56 years in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
81.56 years
Change on year
up 0.2%
Rank
2nd
of 3 regions
All-time high
81.56 years
in 2024
All-time low
69.07 years
in 1960
Years of data
65
1960–2024
Life expectancy at birth, total in European Union, 1960–2024
Source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for life expectancy at birth, total in European Union is 81.56 years, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 65 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.2% on the previous year and up 0.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy at birth, total in European Union peaked at 81.56 years in 2024 and was at its lowest, 69.07 years, in 1960.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 65 years of available data.
Life expectancy at birth, total in European Union, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 69.07 years | — |
| 1961 | 69.44 years | +0.5% |
| 1962 | 69.29 years | -0.2% |
| 1963 | 69.65 years | +0.5% |
| 1964 | 70.16 years | +0.7% |
| 1965 | 70.28 years | +0.2% |
| 1966 | 70.59 years | +0.4% |
| 1967 | 70.6 years | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 70.6 years | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 70.42 years | -0.2% |
| 1970 | 70.82 years | +0.6% |
| 1971 | 70.96 years | +0.2% |
| 1972 | 71.35 years | +0.5% |
| 1973 | 71.47 years | +0.2% |
| 1974 | 71.78 years | +0.4% |
| 1975 | 71.8 years | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 72.07 years | +0.4% |
| 1977 | 72.4 years | +0.4% |
| 1978 | 72.49 years | +0.1% |
| 1979 | 72.77 years | +0.4% |
| 1980 | 72.79 years | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 73.13 years | +0.5% |
| 1982 | 73.41 years | +0.4% |
| 1983 | 73.45 years | +0.1% |
| 1984 | 73.74 years | +0.4% |
| 1985 | 73.82 years | +0.1% |
| 1986 | 74.08 years | +0.3% |
| 1987 | 74.32 years | +0.3% |
| 1988 | 74.53 years | +0.3% |
| 1989 | 74.66 years | +0.2% |
| 1990 | 74.7 years | +0.1% |
| 1991 | 74.82 years | +0.2% |
| 1992 | 75.13 years | +0.4% |
| 1993 | 75.26 years | +0.2% |
| 1994 | 75.53 years | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 75.67 years | +0.2% |
| 1996 | 75.93 years | +0.3% |
| 1997 | 76.24 years | +0.4% |
| 1998 | 76.51 years | +0.4% |
| 1999 | 76.75 years | +0.3% |
| 2000 | 77.08 years | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 77.43 years | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 77.53 years | +0.1% |
| 2003 | 77.59 years | +0.1% |
| 2004 | 78.12 years | +0.7% |
| 2005 | 78.28 years | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 78.67 years | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 78.91 years | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 79.13 years | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 79.36 years | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 79.64 years | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 80.14 years | +0.6% |
| 2012 | 80.17 years | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 80.47 years | +0.4% |
| 2014 | 80.88 years | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 80.57 years | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 80.95 years | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 80.93 years | -0.0% |
| 2018 | 81.03 years | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 81.32 years | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 80.44 years | -1.1% |
| 2021 | 80.31 years | -0.2% |
| 2022 | 80.71 years | +0.5% |
| 2023 | 81.42 years | +0.9% |
| 2024 | 81.56 years | +0.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 70.01 years | 69.07 years | 70.6 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 71.79 years | 70.82 years | 72.77 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 73.79 years | 72.79 years | 74.66 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 75.65 years | 74.7 years | 76.75 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 78.21 years | 77.08 years | 79.36 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 80.61 years | 79.64 years | 81.32 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 80.89 years | 80.31 years | 81.56 years | 5 |
Countries ranked near European Union
- 1 Monaco 86.5 years compare
- 2 San Marino 85.82 years compare
- 3 Hong Kong, China 85.39 years compare
- 4 Kuwait 84.58 years compare
- 5 Switzerland 84.41 years compare
More health data for European Union
- Population, male, per capita 0.4893 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female 13.5% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male 32.89 million (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male 14.9% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, total 64.09 million (2025)
- Population, male 48.9% (2025)
- Population ages 15-64, female 141.91 million (2025)
- Population, female, annual growth rate 0.187 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population, female, per capita 0.5107 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy at birth, total in European Union?
- Life expectancy at birth, total in European Union was 81.56 years in 2024, according to World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest life expectancy at birth, total recorded in European Union?
- The highest recorded value was 81.56 years in 2024.
- What is the lowest life expectancy at birth, total recorded in European Union?
- The lowest recorded value was 69.07 years in 1960.
- How does European Union rank for life expectancy at birth, total?
- European Union ranks 2nd out of 3 regions with data for 2024.
- Is life expectancy at birth, total rising or falling in European Union?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this European Union 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).
About this data
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.