Life expectancy for people of different ages in Kenya
Kenya: Life expectancy for people of different ages was 63.65 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Life expectancy for people of different ages in Kenya, 1927–2023
Source: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
Kenya recorded 63.65 years for life expectancy for people of different ages in 2023. That is the highest value across all 77 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.2% on the previous year and up 3.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy for people of different ages in Kenya peaked at 63.65 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 23.93 years, in 1927.
Kenya ranks 216th of 236 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 77 years of available data.
Life expectancy for people of different ages in Kenya, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1927 | 23.93 years | — |
| 1937 | 26.37 years | +10.2% |
| 1945 | 28.82 years | +9.3% |
| 1950 | 36.86 years | +27.9% |
| 1951 | 38.04 years | +3.2% |
| 1952 | 38.64 years | +1.6% |
| 1953 | 39.82 years | +3.0% |
| 1954 | 41.04 years | +3.1% |
| 1955 | 42.28 years | +3.0% |
| 1956 | 43.53 years | +2.9% |
| 1957 | 45.34 years | +4.1% |
| 1958 | 46.46 years | +2.5% |
| 1959 | 47.52 years | +2.3% |
| 1960 | 48.48 years | +2.0% |
| 1961 | 49.33 years | +1.8% |
| 1962 | 50.1 years | +1.6% |
| 1963 | 50.76 years | +1.3% |
| 1964 | 51.32 years | +1.1% |
| 1965 | 51.89 years | +1.1% |
| 1966 | 52.38 years | +1.0% |
| 1967 | 52.8 years | +0.8% |
| 1968 | 53.3 years | +1.0% |
| 1969 | 53.73 years | +0.8% |
| 1970 | 54.14 years | +0.8% |
| 1971 | 54.54 years | +0.7% |
| 1972 | 55.01 years | +0.9% |
| 1973 | 55.5 years | +0.9% |
| 1974 | 56.04 years | +1.0% |
| 1975 | 56.62 years | +1.0% |
| 1976 | 57.15 years | +0.9% |
| 1977 | 57.68 years | +0.9% |
| 1978 | 58.23 years | +1.0% |
| 1979 | 58.69 years | +0.8% |
| 1980 | 59.17 years | +0.8% |
| 1981 | 59.56 years | +0.7% |
| 1982 | 59.9 years | +0.6% |
| 1983 | 60.34 years | +0.7% |
| 1984 | 60.61 years | +0.4% |
| 1985 | 60.86 years | +0.4% |
| 1986 | 60.82 years | -0.1% |
| 1987 | 60.72 years | -0.2% |
| 1988 | 60.32 years | -0.7% |
| 1989 | 59.99 years | -0.5% |
| 1990 | 58.33 years | -2.8% |
| 1991 | 57.83 years | -0.9% |
| 1992 | 57.09 years | -1.3% |
| 1993 | 56.67 years | -0.7% |
| 1994 | 56.1 years | -1.0% |
| 1995 | 55.86 years | -0.4% |
| 1996 | 55.57 years | -0.5% |
| 1997 | 55.48 years | -0.2% |
| 1998 | 55.57 years | +0.2% |
| 1999 | 55.87 years | +0.5% |
| 2000 | 56.08 years | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 56.5 years | +0.7% |
| 2002 | 56.76 years | +0.5% |
| 2003 | 57.37 years | +1.1% |
| 2004 | 57.95 years | +1.0% |
| 2005 | 58.51 years | +1.0% |
| 2006 | 59.06 years | +0.9% |
| 2007 | 59.41 years | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 59.95 years | +0.9% |
| 2009 | 60.48 years | +0.9% |
| 2010 | 60.91 years | +0.7% |
| 2011 | 61.28 years | +0.6% |
| 2012 | 61.54 years | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 61.73 years | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 61.99 years | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 62.28 years | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 62.53 years | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 62.72 years | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 62.83 years | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 62.94 years | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 61.6 years | -2.1% |
| 2021 | 61.23 years | -0.6% |
| 2022 | 63.55 years | +3.8% |
| 2023 | 63.65 years | +0.2% |
Kenya compared with similar countries
- Kenya's 63.65 years is below the median for lower middle income countries, which is 67.65 years, 94% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Kenya's 63.65 years is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 64.1 years, 99% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Life expectancy for people of different ages in Kenya changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | +27.9% | 28.82 years | 36.86 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 23.93 years | 23.93 years | 23.93 years | 1 |
| 1930s | 26.37 years | 26.37 years | 26.37 years | 1 |
| 1940s | 28.82 years | 28.82 years | 28.82 years | 1 |
| 1950s | 41.95 years | 36.86 years | 47.52 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 51.41 years | 48.48 years | 53.73 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 56.36 years | 54.14 years | 58.69 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 60.23 years | 59.17 years | 60.86 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 56.44 years | 55.48 years | 58.33 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 58.21 years | 56.08 years | 60.48 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 62.07 years | 60.91 years | 62.94 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 62.5 years | 61.23 years | 63.65 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Kenya
- 213 Equatorial Guinea 63.71 years compare
- 214 Cameroon 63.7 years compare
- 215 Burundi 63.65 years compare
- 217 Madagascar 63.63 years compare
- 218 Mozambique 63.61 years compare
- 219 Zimbabwe 62.77 years compare
More health data for Kenya
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.44 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.6026 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,119 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 16,059 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 89 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 1.28 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0621 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 1.28 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy for people of different ages in Kenya?
- Life expectancy for people of different ages in Kenya was 63.65 years in 2023, according to Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest life expectancy for people of different ages recorded in Kenya?
- The highest recorded value was 63.65 years in 2023.
- What is the lowest life expectancy for people of different ages recorded in Kenya?
- The lowest recorded value was 23.93 years in 1927.
- How does Kenya rank for life expectancy for people of different ages?
- Kenya ranks 216th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is life expectancy for people of different ages rising or falling in Kenya?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Kenya data come from?
- The figures come from Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy for people of different ages. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 77 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Period life expectancy is the number of years the average person born in a certain year would live if they experienced the same chances of dying at each age as people did that year.