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Life expectancy at birth in China

China: Life expectancy at birth was 77.95 years in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
77.95 years
Change on year
down 0.3%
World rank
76th
of 236 countries
All-time high
78.2 years
in 2022
All-time low
33.42 years
in 1960
Years of data
74
1950–2023

Life expectancy at birth in China, 1950–2023

020406080195019862023

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for life expectancy at birth in China is 77.95 years, measured in 2023.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.3% on the previous year and up 2.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, life expectancy at birth in China peaked at 78.2 years in 2022 and was at its lowest, 33.42 years, in 1960.

China ranks 76th of 236 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

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

Life expectancy at birth in China, year by year

Year years Change
1950 43.83 years —
1951 44.56 years +1.7%
1952 45.34 years +1.8%
1953 45.91 years +1.3%
1954 46.76 years +1.9%
1955 47.24 years +1.0%
1956 47.81 years +1.2%
1957 48.38 years +1.2%
1958 48.83 years +0.9%
1959 40.17 years -17.7%
1960 33.42 years -16.8%
1961 40.16 years +20.2%
1962 50.96 years +26.9%
1963 51.67 years +1.4%
1964 52.34 years +1.3%
1965 53 years +1.3%
1966 53.66 years +1.2%
1967 54.4 years +1.4%
1968 55.19 years +1.5%
1969 55.99 years +1.4%
1970 56.82 years +1.5%
1971 57.73 years +1.6%
1972 58.58 years +1.5%
1973 59.5 years +1.6%
1974 60.24 years +1.3%
1975 60.95 years +1.2%
1976 61.23 years +0.4%
1977 62.46 years +2.0%
1978 63.1 years +1.0%
1979 63.7 years +1.0%
1980 64.24 years +0.8%
1981 64.78 years +0.8%
1982 65.25 years +0.7%
1983 65.73 years +0.7%
1984 66.15 years +0.6%
1985 66.53 years +0.6%
1986 66.89 years +0.5%
1987 67.26 years +0.6%
1988 67.61 years +0.5%
1989 67.93 years +0.5%
1990 68.16 years +0.3%
1991 68.61 years +0.7%
1992 69.06 years +0.7%
1993 69.49 years +0.6%
1994 69.83 years +0.5%
1995 70.36 years +0.8%
1996 70.82 years +0.7%
1997 71.23 years +0.6%
1998 71.6 years +0.5%
1999 71.95 years +0.5%
2000 72.29 years +0.5%
2001 72.67 years +0.5%
2002 73.03 years +0.5%
2003 73.39 years +0.5%
2004 73.73 years +0.5%
2005 74.08 years +0.5%
2006 74.4 years +0.4%
2007 74.79 years +0.5%
2008 74.83 years +0.1%
2009 75.32 years +0.6%
2010 75.67 years +0.5%
2011 75.89 years +0.3%
2012 76.2 years +0.4%
2013 76.45 years +0.3%
2014 76.71 years +0.3%
2015 76.97 years +0.3%
2016 77.21 years +0.3%
2017 77.23 years +0.0%
2018 77.71 years +0.6%
2019 77.94 years +0.3%
2020 78.02 years +0.1%
2021 78.12 years +0.1%
2022 78.2 years +0.1%
2023 77.95 years -0.3%

China compared with similar countries

  • China's 77.95 years is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 74.42 years, 1.0× the median. (58 countries reporting)
  • China's 77.95 years is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 72.85 years, 1.1× the median. (37 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Life expectancy at birth in China 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.

YearChange FromTo
1962 +26.9% 40.16 years 50.96 years

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 45.88 years 40.17 years 48.83 years 10
1960s 50.08 years 33.42 years 55.99 years 10
1970s 60.43 years 56.82 years 63.7 years 10
1980s 66.24 years 64.24 years 67.93 years 10
1990s 70.11 years 68.16 years 71.95 years 10
2000s 73.85 years 72.29 years 75.32 years 10
2010s 76.8 years 75.67 years 77.94 years 10
2020s 78.07 years 77.95 years 78.2 years 4

Countries ranked near China

  1. 73 Uruguay 78.14 years compare
  2. 74 Cuba 78.08 years compare
  3. 75 Turks and Caicos Islands 78.01 years compare
  4. 77 Bosnia and Herzegovina 77.85 years compare
  5. 78 Lebanon 77.82 years compare
  6. 79 Jordan 77.81 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More health data for China

All data for China →

Frequently asked questions

What is life expectancy at birth in China?
Life expectancy at birth in China was 77.95 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 China?
The highest recorded value was 78.2 years in 2022.
What is the lowest life expectancy at birth recorded in China?
The lowest recorded value was 33.42 years in 1960.
How does China rank for life expectancy at birth?
China ranks 76th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is life expectancy at birth rising or falling in China?
Over the last ten years it is up 2.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this China 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.

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Life expectancy at birth in China. Statizoid, drawing on UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://health.statizoid.com/stat/life-expectancy-unwpp/china/

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About this data

Indicator
Life expectancy at birth
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.