Life expectancy in East Timor
East Timor: Life expectancy was 67.69 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Life expectancy in East Timor, 1950–2023
Source: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2023, life expectancy in East Timor stood at 67.69 years. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.
The figure is up 0.5% on the previous year and up 4.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy in East Timor peaked at 67.69 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 22.93 years, in 1978.
East Timor ranks 186th of 236 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.
Life expectancy in East Timor, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 29.16 years | — |
| 1951 | 29.46 years | +1.0% |
| 1952 | 29.76 years | +1.0% |
| 1953 | 30.07 years | +1.0% |
| 1954 | 30.37 years | +1.0% |
| 1955 | 30.67 years | +1.0% |
| 1956 | 30.98 years | +1.0% |
| 1957 | 31.31 years | +1.0% |
| 1958 | 31.66 years | +1.1% |
| 1959 | 32.02 years | +1.2% |
| 1960 | 32.4 years | +1.2% |
| 1961 | 32.8 years | +1.2% |
| 1962 | 33.22 years | +1.3% |
| 1963 | 33.67 years | +1.3% |
| 1964 | 34.15 years | +1.4% |
| 1965 | 34.65 years | +1.5% |
| 1966 | 35.17 years | +1.5% |
| 1967 | 35.7 years | +1.5% |
| 1968 | 36.24 years | +1.5% |
| 1969 | 36.8 years | +1.5% |
| 1970 | 37.36 years | +1.5% |
| 1971 | 37.91 years | +1.5% |
| 1972 | 38.44 years | +1.4% |
| 1973 | 38.97 years | +1.4% |
| 1974 | 36.45 years | -6.4% |
| 1975 | 24.31 years | -33.3% |
| 1976 | 25.86 years | +6.4% |
| 1977 | 24.88 years | -3.8% |
| 1978 | 22.93 years | -7.8% |
| 1979 | 24.17 years | +5.4% |
| 1980 | 30.2 years | +24.9% |
| 1981 | 31.25 years | +3.5% |
| 1982 | 32.25 years | +3.2% |
| 1983 | 32.69 years | +1.4% |
| 1984 | 34.47 years | +5.4% |
| 1985 | 34.34 years | -0.4% |
| 1986 | 34.76 years | +1.2% |
| 1987 | 35.97 years | +3.5% |
| 1988 | 36.05 years | +0.2% |
| 1989 | 44.8 years | +24.3% |
| 1990 | 45.18 years | +0.9% |
| 1991 | 45.08 years | -0.2% |
| 1992 | 46.19 years | +2.5% |
| 1993 | 47.01 years | +1.8% |
| 1994 | 47.86 years | +1.8% |
| 1995 | 47.54 years | -0.7% |
| 1996 | 48.26 years | +1.5% |
| 1997 | 48.97 years | +1.5% |
| 1998 | 48.58 years | -0.8% |
| 1999 | 45.25 years | -6.9% |
| 2000 | 58.1 years | +28.4% |
| 2001 | 58.77 years | +1.2% |
| 2002 | 59.48 years | +1.2% |
| 2003 | 60.13 years | +1.1% |
| 2004 | 60.74 years | +1.0% |
| 2005 | 61.27 years | +0.9% |
| 2006 | 61.88 years | +1.0% |
| 2007 | 62.4 years | +0.8% |
| 2008 | 62.86 years | +0.7% |
| 2009 | 63.27 years | +0.6% |
| 2010 | 63.66 years | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 64.02 years | +0.6% |
| 2012 | 64.38 years | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 64.72 years | +0.5% |
| 2014 | 65.03 years | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 65.33 years | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 65.61 years | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 65.9 years | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 66.2 years | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 66.5 years | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 66.92 years | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 66.2 years | -1.1% |
| 2022 | 67.37 years | +1.8% |
| 2023 | 67.69 years | +0.5% |
East Timor compared with similar countries
- East Timor's 67.69 years is above the median for lower middle income countries, which is 67.65 years, 1.0× the median. (47 countries reporting)
- East Timor's 67.69 years is below the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 72.85 years, 93% of the median. (37 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Life expectancy in East Timor 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | -33.3% | 36.45 years | 24.31 years |
| 2000 | +28.4% | 45.25 years | 58.1 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 30.55 years | 29.16 years | 32.02 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 34.48 years | 32.4 years | 36.8 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 31.13 years | 22.93 years | 38.97 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 34.68 years | 30.2 years | 44.8 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 46.99 years | 45.08 years | 48.97 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 60.89 years | 58.1 years | 63.27 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 65.13 years | 63.66 years | 66.5 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 67.04 years | 66.2 years | 67.69 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near East Timor
More health data for East Timor
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.22 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.894 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,287 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 162 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -2.67 % 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 0.051 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -2.04 % 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 in East Timor?
- Life expectancy in East Timor was 67.69 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 recorded in East Timor?
- The highest recorded value was 67.69 years in 2023.
- What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in East Timor?
- The lowest recorded value was 22.93 years in 1978.
- How does East Timor rank for life expectancy?
- East Timor ranks 186th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is life expectancy rising or falling in East Timor?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this East Timor 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. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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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.