Life expectancy at birth, by sex in Canada

Canada: Life expectancy at birth, by sex was 84.83 years in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
84.83 years
Change on year
up 0.8%
World rank
29th
of 236 countries
All-time high
84.83 years
in 2023
All-time low
70.58 years
in 1950
Years of data
74
1950–2023

Life expectancy at birth, by sex in Canada, 1950–2023

020406080195019862023

Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.

Analysis

Canada recorded 84.83 years for life expectancy at birth, by sex in 2023. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.8% on the previous year and up 1.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, life expectancy at birth, by sex in Canada peaked at 84.83 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 70.58 years, in 1950.

That places Canada 29th out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.

Life expectancy at birth, by sex in Canada, year by year

Annual values for Life expectancy at birth, by sex in Canada, 1950 to 2023.
Year years Change
1950 70.58 years —
1951 70.87 years +0.4%
1952 71.39 years +0.7%
1953 71.8 years +0.6%
1954 72.7 years +1.3%
1955 72.88 years +0.3%
1956 72.82 years -0.1%
1957 72.98 years +0.2%
1958 73.68 years +1.0%
1959 73.64 years -0.0%
1960 74.15 years +0.7%
1961 74.47 years +0.4%
1962 74.44 years -0.0%
1963 74.52 years +0.1%
1964 75.08 years +0.8%
1965 75.16 years +0.1%
1966 75.39 years +0.3%
1967 75.66 years +0.4%
1968 75.78 years +0.2%
1969 76.02 years +0.3%
1970 76.27 years +0.3%
1971 76.65 years +0.5%
1972 76.54 years -0.1%
1973 76.83 years +0.4%
1974 76.89 years +0.1%
1975 77.23 years +0.4%
1976 77.67 years +0.6%
1977 77.96 years +0.4%
1978 78.32 years +0.5%
1979 78.59 years +0.3%
1980 78.72 years +0.2%
1981 79.11 years +0.5%
1982 79.23 years +0.1%
1983 79.55 years +0.4%
1984 79.77 years +0.3%
1985 79.73 years -0.1%
1986 79.79 years +0.1%
1987 80.11 years +0.4%
1988 80.18 years +0.1%
1989 80.39 years +0.3%
1990 80.62 years +0.3%
1991 80.72 years +0.1%
1992 80.98 years +0.3%
1993 80.78 years -0.2%
1994 80.88 years +0.1%
1995 80.98 years +0.1%
1996 81.09 years +0.1%
1997 81.19 years +0.1%
1998 81.36 years +0.2%
1999 81.57 years +0.3%
2000 81.77 years +0.3%
2001 81.94 years +0.2%
2002 81.94 years +0.0%
2003 82.14 years +0.2%
2004 82.36 years +0.3%
2005 82.43 years +0.1%
2006 82.81 years +0.5%
2007 82.8 years -0.0%
2008 82.95 years +0.2%
2009 83.23 years +0.3%
2010 83.45 years +0.3%
2011 83.58 years +0.2%
2012 83.74 years +0.2%
2013 83.78 years +0.1%
2014 83.87 years +0.1%
2015 83.89 years +0.0%
2016 84.04 years +0.2%
2017 84.03 years -0.0%
2018 84 years -0.0%
2019 84.36 years +0.4%
2020 83.91 years -0.5%
2021 84.37 years +0.5%
2022 84.12 years -0.3%
2023 84.83 years +0.8%

Canada compared with similar countries

  • Canada's 84.83 years is above the median for high income countries, which is 83.13 years, 1.0× the median. (85 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 72.33 years 70.58 years 73.68 years 10
1960s 75.07 years 74.15 years 76.02 years 10
1970s 77.3 years 76.27 years 78.59 years 10
1980s 79.66 years 78.72 years 80.39 years 10
1990s 81.02 years 80.62 years 81.57 years 10
2000s 82.44 years 81.77 years 83.23 years 10
2010s 83.88 years 83.45 years 84.36 years 10
2020s 84.31 years 83.91 years 84.83 years 4

Countries ranked near Canada

  1. 26 Portugal 85.12 years compare
  2. 27 Sweden 85.1 years compare
  3. 28 Norway 84.85 years compare
  4. 30 Finland 84.67 years compare
  5. 31 Israel 84.59 years compare
  6. 32 Iceland 84.51 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More health data for Canada

All data for Canada →

Frequently asked questions

What is life expectancy at birth, by sex in Canada?
Life expectancy at birth, by sex in Canada was 84.83 years in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest life expectancy at birth, by sex recorded in Canada?
The highest recorded value was 84.83 years in 2023.
What is the lowest life expectancy at birth, by sex recorded in Canada?
The lowest recorded value was 70.58 years in 1950.
How does Canada rank for life expectancy at birth, by sex?
Canada ranks 29th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is life expectancy at birth, by sex rising or falling in Canada?
Over the last ten years it is up 1.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Canada data come from?
The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy at birth, by sex. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Life expectancy at birth, by sex in Canada. Statizoid, drawing on UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 25 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/life-expectancy-men-women/canada/

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About this data

Indicator
Life expectancy at birth, by sex
Unit
years
Source
UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
236 places, 17,464 data points, 1950–2023
Last refreshed

Period life expectancy at birth.