Life expectancy in Papua New Guinea
Papua New Guinea: Life expectancy was 65.49 Years in 2021. ▲ Rising
Life expectancy in Papua New Guinea, 2000–2021
Source: World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in Years.
Analysis
In 2021, life expectancy in Papua New Guinea stood at 65.49 Years.
That represents a change of down 1.2% on the previous year and up 0.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy in Papua New Guinea peaked at 66.67 Years in 2019 and was at its lowest, 63.36 Years, in 2000.
That places Papua New Guinea 145th out of 185 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 22 years of available data.
Life expectancy in Papua New Guinea, year by year
| Year | Years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 63.36 Years | — |
| 2001 | 63.37 Years | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 63.43 Years | +0.1% |
| 2003 | 63.56 Years | +0.2% |
| 2004 | 63.63 Years | +0.1% |
| 2005 | 63.69 Years | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 63.77 Years | +0.1% |
| 2007 | 64.08 Years | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 64.35 Years | +0.4% |
| 2009 | 64.63 Years | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 64.89 Years | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 65.03 Years | +0.2% |
| 2012 | 65.17 Years | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 65.48 Years | +0.5% |
| 2014 | 65.75 Years | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 66 Years | +0.4% |
| 2016 | 66.19 Years | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 66.39 Years | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 66.52 Years | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 66.67 Years | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 66.27 Years | -0.6% |
| 2021 | 65.49 Years | -1.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 63.79 Years | 63.36 Years | 64.63 Years | 10 |
| 2010s | 65.81 Years | 64.89 Years | 66.67 Years | 10 |
| 2020s | 65.88 Years | 65.49 Years | 66.27 Years | 2 |
Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea
More health data for Papua New Guinea
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.77 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.3741 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,127 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 2,501 deaths (2100)
- Population ages 0-14, female, annual growth rate 0.8327 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female, per capita 0.1596 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, annual growth rate 0.6669 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male, per capita 0.1718 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy in Papua New Guinea?
- Life expectancy in Papua New Guinea was 65.49 Years in 2021, according to World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest life expectancy recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The highest recorded value was 66.67 Years in 2019.
- What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Papua New Guinea?
- The lowest recorded value was 63.36 Years in 2000.
- How does Papua New Guinea rank for life expectancy?
- Papua New Guinea ranks 145th out of 185 countries with data for 2021.
- Is life expectancy rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Papua New Guinea data come from?
- The figures come from World Health Organization - Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The period life expectancy at birth, in a given year.