Which countries have the highest and lowest life expectancy? (2024)

FAQs

What country has the lowest life expectancy rate? ›

Men born in the Lesotho have the lowest life expectancy of the world as of 2023, reaching only 50 years. The lowest life expectancy for women in the world in 2023 was for girls born in Nigeria, with only 54 years. Except for Afghanistan, all the countries with the lowest life expectancy in the world are in Africa.

1. Mayflies. Mayflies (order Ephemeroptera) are aquatic insects known for having the shortest lifespans of any creature in the animal kingdom—they typically live for only one day. There are over 3,000 species of mayflies that live in aquatic habitats around the world.

But in 2020, life expectancy fell to 77 and dropped further to 76.4 in 2021, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This alarming trend is clearly not an anomaly and is primarily due to heart disease, cancer, COVID-19 and the ongoing drug-overdose epidemic.

Reflecting these declines, provisional data for 2021 show that life expectancy was lowest for AIAN people at 65.2 years, followed by Black people, whose expectancy was 70.8 years, compared with 76.4 years for White people and 77.7 years for Hispanic people. It was highest for Asian people at 83.5 years.

Life expectancy is lowest for AIAN people at 67.9 years, followed by Black people at 72.8 years, while White and Hispanic people have higher life expectancies of 77.5 and 80 years, respectively, and Asian people have the highest life expectancy at 84.5 years.

U.S. life expectancy was 76 years in 2021, according to data from the World Bank, ranking it approximately 60th in the world for life expectancy, behind countries like Estonia and Saudi Arabia.

Ephemeral mayflies

We often hear that mayflies, like the whiteflies of the Susquehanna River, have the shortest lifespan of any animal on Earth, just 24 hours for many species.

Japanese life expectancy

This low mortality is mainly attributable to a low rate of obesity, low consumption of red meat, and high consumption of fish and plant foods such as soybeans and tea. In Japan, the obesity rate is low (4.8% for men and 3.7% for women).

(CN) — Whether it's because of universal health care, genetics or the wine, life expectancy in the European Union continues to rise, according to Eurostat data published Friday, with the average European outliving the average American by five years.

How long will Gen Z live? ›

The members of Generation Z, the oldest of which are now in their 20s, on average are expected to live to 100 and beyond. Health technology may or may not eventually lift Gen Zers well past that. They could be the generation that collectively hits the biological ceiling.

For instance, sleeping less than 5–7 hours per night is linked to a 12% greater risk of early death, while sleeping more than 8–9 hours per night could also decrease your lifespan by up to 38% ( 100 , 101 ). Too little sleep may also promote inflammation and increase your risk of diabetes, heart disease, and obesity.

Countries with low mortality rates have more advanced and accessible health care, better-informed citizens, healthier nutritional options, and higher living standards overall. Qatar has the lowest mortality rate in the world at 1.2 deaths per 1,000 people.

Overall, life expectancy at birth in Hawaii, Washington, California, and New York (state) are among the longest in the nation, while life expectancy at birth in Mississippi, American Samoa, and West Virginia are among the shortest in the nation.

Life expectancy at birth increased from 49 years in 1960 to 58 years in 1994 before declining to the current 55 years, largely due to the HIV and AIDS epidemic. Over the past four years, Lesotho's economy has faced challenges emanating from political instability and a prolonged period of slow growth in South Africa.