Life expectancy in Russia
Russia: Life expectancy was 73.15 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Life expectancy in Russia, 1896–2023
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 Russia stood at 73.15 years. That is the highest value across all 100 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.9% on the previous year and up 3.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy in Russia peaked at 73.15 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 20.5 years, in 1920.
Russia ranks 138th of 236 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 100 years of available data.
Life expectancy in Russia, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1896 | 31.9 years | — |
| 1900 | 30.5 years | -4.4% |
| 1920 | 20.5 years | -32.8% |
| 1921 | 23.8 years | +16.1% |
| 1922 | 24.7 years | +3.8% |
| 1923 | 33.6 years | +36.0% |
| 1924 | 36.1 years | +7.4% |
| 1925 | 35.2 years | -2.5% |
| 1926 | 38.4 years | +9.1% |
| 1927 | 37.5 years | -2.3% |
| 1928 | 38.9 years | +3.7% |
| 1929 | 37.4 years | -3.9% |
| 1930 | 36.5 years | -2.4% |
| 1931 | 35 years | -4.1% |
| 1932 | 32.8 years | -6.3% |
| 1934 | 38.2 years | +16.5% |
| 1935 | 39.6 years | +3.7% |
| 1936 | 41.1 years | +3.8% |
| 1937 | 39.9 years | -2.9% |
| 1938 | 41.4 years | +3.8% |
| 1939 | 43.6 years | +5.3% |
| 1940 | 41.2 years | -5.5% |
| 1946 | 46.1 years | +11.9% |
| 1947 | 40.4 years | -12.4% |
| 1948 | 52.2 years | +29.2% |
| 1949 | 55 years | +5.4% |
| 1950 | 55.47 years | +0.9% |
| 1951 | 55.27 years | -0.4% |
| 1952 | 57.59 years | +4.2% |
| 1953 | 58.78 years | +2.1% |
| 1954 | 59.92 years | +1.9% |
| 1955 | 62.06 years | +3.6% |
| 1956 | 66.5 years | +7.2% |
| 1957 | 66.05 years | -0.7% |
| 1958 | 67.69 years | +2.5% |
| 1959 | 67.38 years | -0.5% |
| 1960 | 68.31 years | +1.4% |
| 1961 | 68.56 years | +0.4% |
| 1962 | 68.48 years | -0.1% |
| 1963 | 69.06 years | +0.8% |
| 1964 | 69.5 years | +0.6% |
| 1965 | 69.28 years | -0.3% |
| 1966 | 69.36 years | +0.1% |
| 1967 | 69.18 years | -0.3% |
| 1968 | 69.06 years | -0.2% |
| 1969 | 68.63 years | -0.6% |
| 1970 | 68.71 years | +0.1% |
| 1971 | 68.92 years | +0.3% |
| 1972 | 68.85 years | -0.1% |
| 1973 | 68.95 years | +0.2% |
| 1974 | 68.73 years | -0.3% |
| 1975 | 68.26 years | -0.7% |
| 1976 | 68.1 years | -0.2% |
| 1977 | 67.87 years | -0.3% |
| 1978 | 67.81 years | -0.1% |
| 1979 | 67.57 years | -0.4% |
| 1980 | 67.48 years | -0.1% |
| 1981 | 67.62 years | +0.2% |
| 1982 | 68.14 years | +0.8% |
| 1983 | 68.03 years | -0.2% |
| 1984 | 67.57 years | -0.7% |
| 1985 | 68.3 years | +1.1% |
| 1986 | 70.02 years | +2.5% |
| 1987 | 70.06 years | +0.1% |
| 1988 | 69.86 years | -0.3% |
| 1989 | 69.69 years | -0.3% |
| 1990 | 69.28 years | -0.6% |
| 1991 | 69 years | -0.4% |
| 1992 | 67.84 years | -1.7% |
| 1993 | 65.04 years | -4.1% |
| 1994 | 63.82 years | -1.9% |
| 1995 | 63.99 years | +0.3% |
| 1996 | 65.45 years | +2.3% |
| 1997 | 66.59 years | +1.7% |
| 1998 | 66.92 years | +0.5% |
| 1999 | 65.6 years | -2.0% |
| 2000 | 65 years | -0.9% |
| 2001 | 65.02 years | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 64.73 years | -0.4% |
| 2003 | 64.72 years | -0.0% |
| 2004 | 65.15 years | +0.7% |
| 2005 | 65.22 years | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 66.55 years | +2.0% |
| 2007 | 67.47 years | +1.4% |
| 2008 | 67.86 years | +0.6% |
| 2009 | 68.66 years | +1.2% |
| 2010 | 68.15 years | -0.7% |
| 2011 | 69.73 years | +2.3% |
| 2012 | 70.12 years | +0.6% |
| 2013 | 70.64 years | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 70.8 years | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 71.34 years | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 71.91 years | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 72.84 years | +1.3% |
| 2018 | 72.94 years | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 73.07 years | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 71.17 years | -2.6% |
| 2021 | 69.81 years | -1.9% |
| 2022 | 72.52 years | +3.9% |
| 2023 | 73.15 years | +0.9% |
Russia compared with similar countries
- Russia's 73.15 years is below the median for high income countries, which is 81 years, 90% of the median. (85 countries reporting)
- Russia's 73.15 years is below the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 79.72 years, 92% of the median. (56 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Life expectancy in Russia 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1923 | +36.0% | 24.7 years | 33.6 years |
| 1920 | -32.8% | 30.5 years | 20.5 years |
| 1948 | +29.2% | 40.4 years | 52.2 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1890s | 31.9 years | 31.9 years | 31.9 years | 1 |
| 1900s | 30.5 years | 30.5 years | 30.5 years | 1 |
| 1920s | 32.61 years | 20.5 years | 38.9 years | 10 |
| 1930s | 38.68 years | 32.8 years | 43.6 years | 9 |
| 1940s | 46.98 years | 40.4 years | 55 years | 5 |
| 1950s | 61.67 years | 55.27 years | 67.69 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 68.94 years | 68.31 years | 69.5 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 68.38 years | 67.57 years | 68.95 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 68.68 years | 67.48 years | 70.06 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 66.35 years | 63.82 years | 69.28 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 66.04 years | 64.72 years | 68.66 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 71.15 years | 68.15 years | 73.07 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 71.66 years | 69.81 years | 73.15 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Russia
More health data for Russia
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -0.7261 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate -0.5159 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 1,176 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 957 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 0 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -3.34 % 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 0.0224 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -3.3 % 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 Russia?
- Life expectancy in Russia was 73.15 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 Russia?
- The highest recorded value was 73.15 years in 2023.
- What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Russia?
- The lowest recorded value was 20.5 years in 1920.
- How does Russia rank for life expectancy?
- Russia ranks 138th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is life expectancy rising or falling in Russia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Russia 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 — 100 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.