Share in poverty vs. life expectancy in China
China: Share in poverty vs. life expectancy 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
Share in poverty vs. life expectancy in China, 1950–2023
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2023, share in poverty vs. life expectancy in China stood at 77.95 years.
That represents a change of down 0.3% on the previous year and up 2.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share in poverty vs. life expectancy 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.
Share in poverty vs. life expectancy 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 Share in poverty vs. life expectancy 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.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | +26.9% | 40.16 years | 50.96 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | 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
More health data for China
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -1.15 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate -0.0985 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 2,029 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 4,642 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 10 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate -8.22 % 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 0.0159 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate -8.73 % 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 share in poverty vs. life expectancy in China?
- Share in poverty vs. life expectancy 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 share in poverty vs. life expectancy recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 78.2 years in 2022.
- What is the lowest share in poverty vs. life expectancy recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 33.42 years in 1960.
- How does China rank for share in poverty vs. life expectancy?
- China ranks 76th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share in poverty vs. life expectancy 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 Share in poverty vs. 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 at birth.