Life expectancy in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico: Life expectancy was 81.69 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
81.69 years
Change on year
up 2.8%
World rank
42nd
of 236 countries
All-time high
81.69 years
in 2023
All-time low
60.26 years
in 1951
Years of data
74
1950–2023
Life expectancy in Puerto Rico, 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
In 2023, life expectancy in Puerto Rico stood at 81.69 years. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.8% on the previous year and up 1.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy in Puerto Rico peaked at 81.69 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 60.26 years, in 1951.
That places Puerto Rico 42nd 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 in Puerto Rico, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 60.37 years | — |
| 1951 | 60.26 years | -0.2% |
| 1952 | 61.79 years | +2.5% |
| 1953 | 64.47 years | +4.3% |
| 1954 | 65.6 years | +1.7% |
| 1955 | 66.27 years | +1.0% |
| 1956 | 66.37 years | +0.1% |
| 1957 | 67.11 years | +1.1% |
| 1958 | 67.24 years | +0.2% |
| 1959 | 68.07 years | +1.2% |
| 1960 | 68.63 years | +0.8% |
| 1961 | 68.53 years | -0.1% |
| 1962 | 68.86 years | +0.5% |
| 1963 | 68.73 years | -0.2% |
| 1964 | 68.24 years | -0.7% |
| 1965 | 69.29 years | +1.5% |
| 1966 | 70.22 years | +1.3% |
| 1967 | 70.7 years | +0.7% |
| 1968 | 70.57 years | -0.2% |
| 1969 | 70.51 years | -0.1% |
| 1970 | 70.35 years | -0.2% |
| 1971 | 71.08 years | +1.0% |
| 1972 | 70.81 years | -0.4% |
| 1973 | 70.95 years | +0.2% |
| 1974 | 71.32 years | +0.5% |
| 1975 | 71.96 years | +0.9% |
| 1976 | 72.08 years | +0.2% |
| 1977 | 72.4 years | +0.4% |
| 1978 | 72.53 years | +0.2% |
| 1979 | 72.72 years | +0.3% |
| 1980 | 73.1 years | +0.5% |
| 1981 | 72.98 years | -0.2% |
| 1982 | 72.95 years | -0.0% |
| 1983 | 73.37 years | +0.6% |
| 1984 | 73.43 years | +0.1% |
| 1985 | 72.63 years | -1.1% |
| 1986 | 73.27 years | +0.9% |
| 1987 | 73.4 years | +0.2% |
| 1988 | 73.15 years | -0.3% |
| 1989 | 72.48 years | -0.9% |
| 1990 | 72.83 years | +0.5% |
| 1991 | 73.88 years | +1.4% |
| 1992 | 73.39 years | -0.7% |
| 1993 | 73.31 years | -0.1% |
| 1994 | 73.62 years | +0.4% |
| 1995 | 73.57 years | -0.1% |
| 1996 | 73.99 years | +0.6% |
| 1997 | 74.67 years | +0.9% |
| 1998 | 74.56 years | -0.2% |
| 1999 | 75.28 years | +1.0% |
| 2000 | 75.51 years | +0.3% |
| 2001 | 75.97 years | +0.6% |
| 2002 | 76.82 years | +1.1% |
| 2003 | 76.94 years | +0.2% |
| 2004 | 76.91 years | -0.0% |
| 2005 | 76.7 years | -0.3% |
| 2006 | 77.56 years | +1.1% |
| 2007 | 77.66 years | +0.1% |
| 2008 | 78.11 years | +0.6% |
| 2009 | 78.38 years | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 78.72 years | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 78.77 years | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 79.26 years | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 80.32 years | +1.3% |
| 2014 | 80.04 years | -0.3% |
| 2015 | 80.68 years | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 80.35 years | -0.4% |
| 2017 | 79.07 years | -1.6% |
| 2018 | 81.09 years | +2.5% |
| 2019 | 81.44 years | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 80.01 years | -1.8% |
| 2021 | 79.77 years | -0.3% |
| 2022 | 79.43 years | -0.4% |
| 2023 | 81.69 years | +2.8% |
Puerto Rico compared with similar countries
- Puerto Rico's 81.69 years is above the median for high income countries, which is 81 years, 1.0× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- Puerto Rico's 81.69 years is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 75.34 years, 1.1× the median. (42 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 64.76 years | 60.26 years | 68.07 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 69.43 years | 68.24 years | 70.7 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 71.62 years | 70.35 years | 72.72 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 73.08 years | 72.48 years | 73.43 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 73.91 years | 72.83 years | 75.28 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 77.06 years | 75.51 years | 78.38 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 79.97 years | 78.72 years | 81.44 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 80.22 years | 79.43 years | 81.69 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Puerto Rico
More health data for Puerto Rico
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -20 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 1.45 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 2,519 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 4 deaths (2100)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -0.4804 % 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 0.0145 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -0.8484 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per capita 0.0152 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy in Puerto Rico?
- Life expectancy in Puerto Rico was 81.69 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 Puerto Rico?
- The highest recorded value was 81.69 years in 2023.
- What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Puerto Rico?
- The lowest recorded value was 60.26 years in 1951.
- How does Puerto Rico rank for life expectancy?
- Puerto Rico ranks 42nd out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is life expectancy rising or falling in Puerto Rico?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Puerto Rico 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.
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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.