Life expectancy at birth in United States

United States: Life expectancy at birth was 76.37 in 2021. β–¬ Flat

Latest (2021)
76.37
Change on year
down 0.7%
World rank
46th
of 184 countries
All-time high
78.8
in 2014
All-time low
76.37
in 2021
Years of data
22
2000–2021

Life expectancy at birth in United States, 2000–2021

0204060802000201020212000: 76.72001: 76.82002: 76.82003: 772004: 77.42005: 77.42006: 77.72007: 77.92008: 782009: 78.42010: 78.62011: 78.72012: 78.82013: 78.82014: 78.82015: 78.62016: 78.62017: 78.52018: 78.62019: 78.72020: 76.92021: 76.4

Source: World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory.

Analysis

United States recorded 76.37 for life expectancy at birth in 2021. That is the lowest value across all 22 years on record.

That represents a change of down 0.7% on the previous year and down 2.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, life expectancy at birth in United States peaked at 78.8 in 2014 and was at its lowest, 76.37, in 2021.

United States ranks 46th of 184 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 77.41 76.66 78.42 10
2010s 78.66 78.5 78.8 10
2020s 76.63 76.37 76.89 2

Countries ranked near United States

  1. 43 Qatar 76.71 compare
  2. 44 Saudi Arabia 76.43 compare
  3. 45 Albania 76.39 compare
  4. 47 Algeria 75.98 compare
  5. 48 Jordan 75.65 compare
  6. 49 Poland 75.4 compare

See the full ranking of 196 places β†’

More health data for United States

All data for United States β†’

Frequently asked questions

What is life expectancy at birth in United States?
Life expectancy at birth in United States was 76.37 in 2021, according to World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory.
What is the highest life expectancy at birth recorded in United States?
The highest recorded value was 78.8 in 2014.
What is the lowest life expectancy at birth recorded in United States?
The lowest recorded value was 76.37 in 2021.
How does United States rank for life expectancy at birth?
United States ranks 46th out of 184 countries with data for 2021.
Is life expectancy at birth rising or falling in United States?
Over the last ten years it is down 2.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
Where does this United States data come from?
The figures come from World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory, published as part of Life expectancy at birth (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV Β· JSON β€” 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Life expectancy at birth in United States. Statizoid, drawing on World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. Retrieved 19 August 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/life-expectancy-at-birth-years/united-states/

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-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://health.statizoid.com/stat/life-expectancy-at-birth-years/united-states/">Life expectancy at birth in United States</a> β€” Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Life expectancy at birth (years)
Source
World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory
Licence
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO)
Coverage
196 places, 4,312 data points, 2000–2021
Last refreshed