Life expectancy at birth, total in World
World: Life expectancy at birth, total was 73.48 years in 2024. ▲ Rising
Life expectancy at birth, total in World, 1960–2024
Source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in years.
Analysis
World recorded 73.48 years for life expectancy at birth, total in 2024. That is the highest value across all 65 years on record.
The figure is up 0.2% on the previous year and up 2.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy at birth, total in World peaked at 73.48 years in 2024 and was at its lowest, 50.94 years, in 1960.
World ranks 23rd of 49 groups on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 65 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 55.51 years | 50.94 years | 57.68 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 59.87 years | 57.94 years | 61.84 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 63.6 years | 62.15 years | 64.96 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 66.16 years | 65.11 years | 67.31 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 68.99 years | 67.65 years | 70.38 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 71.83 years | 70.68 years | 72.87 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 72.64 years | 71.22 years | 73.48 years | 5 |
Countries ranked near World
More health data for World
- Population ages 0-14, female 974.32 million (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, total 2.01 billion (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male 25.0% (2025)
- Population, male 50.3% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male 1.03 billion (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female 23.8% (2025)
- Age dependency ratio 54.5% (2025)
- Age dependency ratio, old 16.0% (2025)
- Population, female 4.09 billion (2025)
- Population ages 65 and above 10.4% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy at birth, total in World?
- Life expectancy at birth, total in World was 73.48 years in 2024, according to World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest life expectancy at birth, total recorded in World?
- The highest recorded value was 73.48 years in 2024.
- What is the lowest life expectancy at birth, total recorded in World?
- The lowest recorded value was 50.94 years in 1960.
- How does World rank for life expectancy at birth, total?
- World ranks 23rd out of 49 groups with data for 2024.
- Is life expectancy at birth, total rising or falling in World?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this World 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.