Life expectancy in Japan
Japan: Life expectancy was 84.71 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
84.71 years
Change on year
up 0.8%
World rank
4th
of 236 countries
All-time high
84.71 years
in 2023
All-time low
30.54 years
in 1945
Years of data
93
1865–2023
Life expectancy in Japan, 1865–2023
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 Japan stood at 84.71 years. That is the highest value across all 93 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.8% on the previous year and up 1.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy in Japan peaked at 84.71 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 30.54 years, in 1945.
That places Japan 4th out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 93 years of available data.
Life expectancy in Japan, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1865 | 36.43 years | — |
| 1870 | 36.59 years | +0.5% |
| 1875 | 36.8 years | +0.6% |
| 1880 | 37.04 years | +0.6% |
| 1885 | 37.33 years | +0.8% |
| 1890 | 37.68 years | +0.9% |
| 1895 | 38.1 years | +1.1% |
| 1900 | 38.6 years | +1.3% |
| 1905 | 39.22 years | +1.6% |
| 1910 | 39.97 years | +1.9% |
| 1915 | 40.9 years | +2.3% |
| 1920 | 42.04 years | +2.8% |
| 1922 | 42.62 years | +1.4% |
| 1927 | 45.66 years | +7.1% |
| 1935 | 48.24 years | +5.7% |
| 1945 | 30.54 years | -36.7% |
| 1947 | 51.71 years | +69.3% |
| 1948 | 56.84 years | +9.9% |
| 1949 | 57.72 years | +1.5% |
| 1950 | 59.25 years | +2.7% |
| 1951 | 60.99 years | +2.9% |
| 1952 | 63 years | +3.3% |
| 1953 | 63.33 years | +0.5% |
| 1954 | 64.54 years | +1.9% |
| 1955 | 65.71 years | +1.8% |
| 1956 | 65.56 years | -0.2% |
| 1957 | 65.44 years | -0.2% |
| 1958 | 67.04 years | +2.5% |
| 1959 | 67.46 years | +0.6% |
| 1960 | 67.72 years | +0.4% |
| 1961 | 68.37 years | +1.0% |
| 1962 | 68.67 years | +0.4% |
| 1963 | 69.75 years | +1.6% |
| 1964 | 70.2 years | +0.6% |
| 1965 | 70.26 years | +0.1% |
| 1966 | 71.06 years | +1.1% |
| 1967 | 71.4 years | +0.5% |
| 1968 | 71.67 years | +0.4% |
| 1969 | 71.92 years | +0.3% |
| 1970 | 72.01 years | +0.1% |
| 1971 | 72.83 years | +1.1% |
| 1972 | 73.26 years | +0.6% |
| 1973 | 73.42 years | +0.2% |
| 1974 | 73.85 years | +0.6% |
| 1975 | 74.36 years | +0.7% |
| 1976 | 74.76 years | +0.5% |
| 1977 | 75.33 years | +0.8% |
| 1978 | 75.66 years | +0.4% |
| 1979 | 76.17 years | +0.7% |
| 1980 | 76.14 years | -0.0% |
| 1981 | 76.56 years | +0.6% |
| 1982 | 77.07 years | +0.7% |
| 1983 | 77.11 years | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 77.51 years | +0.5% |
| 1985 | 77.8 years | +0.4% |
| 1986 | 78.21 years | +0.5% |
| 1987 | 78.63 years | +0.5% |
| 1988 | 78.55 years | -0.1% |
| 1989 | 78.98 years | +0.6% |
| 1990 | 78.99 years | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 79.26 years | +0.3% |
| 1992 | 79.3 years | +0.1% |
| 1993 | 79.45 years | +0.2% |
| 1994 | 79.84 years | +0.5% |
| 1995 | 79.68 years | -0.2% |
| 1996 | 80.36 years | +0.9% |
| 1997 | 80.58 years | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 80.65 years | +0.1% |
| 1999 | 80.61 years | -0.0% |
| 2000 | 81.18 years | +0.7% |
| 2001 | 81.51 years | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 81.8 years | +0.3% |
| 2003 | 81.85 years | +0.1% |
| 2004 | 82.13 years | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 82.01 years | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 82.37 years | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 82.55 years | +0.2% |
| 2008 | 82.63 years | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 82.97 years | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 82.92 years | -0.1% |
| 2011 | 82.67 years | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 83.17 years | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 83.4 years | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 83.64 years | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 83.88 years | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 84.06 years | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 84.19 years | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 84.29 years | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 84.42 years | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 84.67 years | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 84.55 years | -0.1% |
| 2022 | 84.05 years | -0.6% |
| 2023 | 84.71 years | +0.8% |
Japan compared with similar countries
- Japan's 84.71 years is above the median for high income countries, which is 81 years, 1.0× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- Japan's 84.71 years is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 72.85 years, 1.2× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Life expectancy in Japan 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1947 | +69.3% | 30.54 years | 51.71 years |
| 1945 | -36.7% | 48.24 years | 30.54 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1860s | 36.43 years | 36.43 years | 36.43 years | 1 |
| 1870s | 36.7 years | 36.59 years | 36.8 years | 2 |
| 1880s | 37.18 years | 37.04 years | 37.33 years | 2 |
| 1890s | 37.89 years | 37.68 years | 38.1 years | 2 |
| 1900s | 38.91 years | 38.6 years | 39.22 years | 2 |
| 1910s | 40.44 years | 39.97 years | 40.9 years | 2 |
| 1920s | 43.44 years | 42.04 years | 45.66 years | 3 |
| 1930s | 48.24 years | 48.24 years | 48.24 years | 1 |
| 1940s | 49.2 years | 30.54 years | 57.72 years | 4 |
| 1950s | 64.23 years | 59.25 years | 67.46 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 70.1 years | 67.72 years | 71.92 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 74.16 years | 72.01 years | 76.17 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 77.66 years | 76.14 years | 78.98 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 79.87 years | 78.99 years | 80.65 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 82.1 years | 81.18 years | 82.97 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 83.66 years | 82.67 years | 84.42 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 84.5 years | 84.05 years | 84.71 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Japan
- 1 Monaco 86.37 years compare
- 2 San Marino 85.71 years compare
- 3 Hong Kong 85.51 years compare
- 5 South Korea 84.33 years compare
- 6 Saint Barthelemy 84.29 years compare
- 7 French Polynesia 84.07 years compare
More health data for Japan
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -2.73 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate -0.2774 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,294 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 178 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -2.22 % 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 0.0155 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -2.36 % 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 Japan?
- Life expectancy in Japan was 84.71 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 Japan?
- The highest recorded value was 84.71 years in 2023.
- What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Japan?
- The lowest recorded value was 30.54 years in 1945.
- How does Japan rank for life expectancy?
- Japan ranks 4th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is life expectancy rising or falling in Japan?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Japan 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 93 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.