Life expectancy at birth in Canada
Canada: Life expectancy at birth was 82.63 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
82.63 years
Change on year
up 1.7%
World rank
26th
of 236 countries
All-time high
82.63 years
in 2023
All-time low
68.22 years
in 1950
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Life expectancy at birth in Canada, 1950–2023
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
Canada recorded 82.63 years for life expectancy at birth in 2023. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.
The figure is up 1.7% on the previous year and up 1.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy at birth in Canada peaked at 82.63 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 68.22 years, in 1950.
Canada ranks 26th of 236 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.
Life expectancy at birth in Canada, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 68.22 years | — |
| 1951 | 68.51 years | +0.4% |
| 1952 | 68.68 years | +0.3% |
| 1953 | 69.07 years | +0.6% |
| 1954 | 69.94 years | +1.3% |
| 1955 | 70 years | +0.1% |
| 1956 | 69.97 years | -0.0% |
| 1957 | 69.92 years | -0.1% |
| 1958 | 70.57 years | +0.9% |
| 1959 | 70.61 years | +0.1% |
| 1960 | 70.97 years | +0.5% |
| 1961 | 71.22 years | +0.3% |
| 1962 | 71.24 years | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 71.27 years | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 71.64 years | +0.5% |
| 1965 | 71.75 years | +0.2% |
| 1966 | 71.87 years | +0.2% |
| 1967 | 72.08 years | +0.3% |
| 1968 | 72.24 years | +0.2% |
| 1969 | 72.4 years | +0.2% |
| 1970 | 72.61 years | +0.3% |
| 1971 | 72.95 years | +0.5% |
| 1972 | 72.83 years | -0.2% |
| 1973 | 73.07 years | +0.3% |
| 1974 | 73.14 years | +0.1% |
| 1975 | 73.45 years | +0.4% |
| 1976 | 73.87 years | +0.6% |
| 1977 | 74.15 years | +0.4% |
| 1978 | 74.48 years | +0.4% |
| 1979 | 74.84 years | +0.5% |
| 1980 | 75.06 years | +0.3% |
| 1981 | 75.48 years | +0.6% |
| 1982 | 75.69 years | +0.3% |
| 1983 | 76.07 years | +0.5% |
| 1984 | 76.36 years | +0.4% |
| 1985 | 76.35 years | -0.0% |
| 1986 | 76.49 years | +0.2% |
| 1987 | 76.8 years | +0.4% |
| 1988 | 76.86 years | +0.1% |
| 1989 | 77.12 years | +0.3% |
| 1990 | 77.43 years | +0.4% |
| 1991 | 77.59 years | +0.2% |
| 1992 | 77.85 years | +0.3% |
| 1993 | 77.72 years | -0.2% |
| 1994 | 77.9 years | +0.2% |
| 1995 | 78.02 years | +0.2% |
| 1996 | 78.27 years | +0.3% |
| 1997 | 78.47 years | +0.2% |
| 1998 | 78.67 years | +0.3% |
| 1999 | 78.89 years | +0.3% |
| 2000 | 79.23 years | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 79.45 years | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 79.57 years | +0.1% |
| 2003 | 79.74 years | +0.2% |
| 2004 | 80.03 years | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 80.13 years | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 80.54 years | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 80.54 years | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 80.73 years | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 81.06 years | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 81.34 years | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 81.51 years | +0.2% |
| 2012 | 81.7 years | +0.2% |
| 2013 | 81.78 years | +0.1% |
| 2014 | 81.84 years | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 81.91 years | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 82.03 years | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 81.92 years | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 81.92 years | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 82.28 years | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 81.65 years | -0.8% |
| 2021 | 81.98 years | +0.4% |
| 2022 | 81.25 years | -0.9% |
| 2023 | 82.63 years | +1.7% |
Canada compared with similar countries
- Canada's 82.63 years is above the median for high income countries, which is 81 years, 1.0× the median. (85 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 69.55 years | 68.22 years | 70.61 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 71.67 years | 70.97 years | 72.4 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 73.54 years | 72.61 years | 74.84 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 76.23 years | 75.06 years | 77.12 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 78.08 years | 77.43 years | 78.89 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 80.1 years | 79.23 years | 81.06 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 81.82 years | 81.34 years | 82.28 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 81.88 years | 81.25 years | 82.63 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Canada
More health data for Canada
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.79 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate -0.3588 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,083 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 385 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 0.5214 % 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 0.023 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 0.5024 % 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 at birth in Canada?
- Life expectancy at birth in Canada was 82.63 years in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest life expectancy at birth recorded in Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 82.63 years in 2023.
- What is the lowest life expectancy at birth recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 68.22 years in 1950.
- How does Canada rank for life expectancy at birth?
- Canada ranks 26th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is life expectancy at birth rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.0%. 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. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Period life expectancy at birth.