Life expectancy in Malaysia
Malaysia: Life expectancy was 76.66 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
76.66 years
Change on year
up 1.6%
World rank
100th
of 236 countries
All-time high
76.66 years
in 2023
All-time low
48.49 years
in 1950
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Life expectancy in Malaysia, 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
The most recent figure for life expectancy in Malaysia is 76.66 years, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.6% on the previous year and up 1.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy in Malaysia peaked at 76.66 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 48.49 years, in 1950.
Malaysia ranks 100th 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 in Malaysia, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 48.49 years | — |
| 1951 | 49.22 years | +1.5% |
| 1952 | 50.15 years | +1.9% |
| 1953 | 51.13 years | +2.0% |
| 1954 | 51.98 years | +1.7% |
| 1955 | 52.84 years | +1.6% |
| 1956 | 53.67 years | +1.6% |
| 1957 | 54.51 years | +1.6% |
| 1958 | 55.41 years | +1.7% |
| 1959 | 56.31 years | +1.6% |
| 1960 | 57.17 years | +1.5% |
| 1961 | 58.02 years | +1.5% |
| 1962 | 58.86 years | +1.4% |
| 1963 | 59.67 years | +1.4% |
| 1964 | 60.45 years | +1.3% |
| 1965 | 61.14 years | +1.2% |
| 1966 | 61.68 years | +0.9% |
| 1967 | 62.04 years | +0.6% |
| 1968 | 62.44 years | +0.6% |
| 1969 | 62.87 years | +0.7% |
| 1970 | 63.3 years | +0.7% |
| 1971 | 63.77 years | +0.7% |
| 1972 | 64.23 years | +0.7% |
| 1973 | 64.73 years | +0.8% |
| 1974 | 65.2 years | +0.7% |
| 1975 | 65.7 years | +0.8% |
| 1976 | 66.23 years | +0.8% |
| 1977 | 66.72 years | +0.7% |
| 1978 | 67.17 years | +0.7% |
| 1979 | 67.61 years | +0.6% |
| 1980 | 68.06 years | +0.7% |
| 1981 | 68.46 years | +0.6% |
| 1982 | 68.88 years | +0.6% |
| 1983 | 69.21 years | +0.5% |
| 1984 | 69.55 years | +0.5% |
| 1985 | 69.86 years | +0.4% |
| 1986 | 70.13 years | +0.4% |
| 1987 | 70.35 years | +0.3% |
| 1988 | 70.55 years | +0.3% |
| 1989 | 70.76 years | +0.3% |
| 1990 | 70.95 years | +0.3% |
| 1991 | 71.22 years | +0.4% |
| 1992 | 71.48 years | +0.4% |
| 1993 | 71.72 years | +0.3% |
| 1994 | 71.87 years | +0.2% |
| 1995 | 71.98 years | +0.2% |
| 1996 | 72.12 years | +0.2% |
| 1997 | 72.3 years | +0.2% |
| 1998 | 72.39 years | +0.1% |
| 1999 | 72.43 years | +0.1% |
| 2000 | 72.73 years | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 73.08 years | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 73.47 years | +0.5% |
| 2003 | 73.73 years | +0.4% |
| 2004 | 74.03 years | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 74.37 years | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 74.7 years | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 74.96 years | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 75.15 years | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 75.27 years | +0.2% |
| 2010 | 75.38 years | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 75.49 years | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 75.55 years | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 75.46 years | -0.1% |
| 2014 | 75.35 years | -0.2% |
| 2015 | 75.29 years | -0.1% |
| 2016 | 75.37 years | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 75.54 years | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 75.73 years | +0.3% |
| 2019 | 75.9 years | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 76.06 years | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 73.92 years | -2.8% |
| 2022 | 75.44 years | +2.1% |
| 2023 | 76.66 years | +1.6% |
Malaysia compared with similar countries
- Malaysia's 76.66 years is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 74.42 years, 1.0× the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Malaysia's 76.66 years is above the median for East Asia & Pacific, which is 72.85 years, 1.1× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 52.37 years | 48.49 years | 56.31 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 60.43 years | 57.17 years | 62.87 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 65.47 years | 63.3 years | 67.61 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 69.58 years | 68.06 years | 70.76 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 71.84 years | 70.95 years | 72.43 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 74.15 years | 72.73 years | 75.27 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 75.51 years | 75.29 years | 75.9 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 75.52 years | 73.92 years | 76.66 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Malaysia
- 97 Saint Helena 76.79 years compare
- 98 Serbia 76.77 years compare
- 99 Saint Pierre and Miquelon 76.76 years compare
- 101 Tunisia 76.51 years compare
- 102 Thailand 76.41 years compare
- 103 Sint Maarten (Dutch part) 76.37 years compare
More health data for Malaysia
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -0.9119 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.2888 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,250 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 652 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 18 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -0.7207 % 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 0.0297 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -0.5991 % 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 Malaysia?
- Life expectancy in Malaysia was 76.66 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 Malaysia?
- The highest recorded value was 76.66 years in 2023.
- What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Malaysia?
- The lowest recorded value was 48.49 years in 1950.
- How does Malaysia rank for life expectancy?
- Malaysia ranks 100th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is life expectancy rising or falling in Malaysia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malaysia 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 — 74 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.