Countries by Life Expectancy

Complete ranking of 236 countries • years • Updated 2026

Monaco leads all 236 countries in Life Expectancy with a value of 86.372, while Nigeria ranks last at 54.462. This represents a 2-fold difference between the highest and lowest values.

What Life Expectancy Measures

Life Expectancy is a health indicator reported by the Our World in Data that reflects population wellbeing and healthcare system effectiveness. Health metrics are critical for assessing quality of life and are closely watched by organizations like the WHO, UNICEF, and national health ministries.

Why This Ranking Matters

Countries with strong Life Expectancy performance typically invest heavily in public health infrastructure, preventive care, and nutrition. The ranking reveals stark disparities between high-income and low-income nations, though notable exceptions highlight the impact of targeted health policies.

Global Range

Values range from 54.462 (Nigeria) to 86.372 (Monaco) — a 2-fold difference across 236 countries.

Regional Patterns

European countries dominate this ranking, holding 12 of the top 20 positions. This strong regional concentration suggests shared economic, geographic, or policy factors that drive higher values across the continent.

Values are broadly distributed across countries, with the middle 50% ranging from 69.163 to 79.707. The overall spread from 54.462 to 86.372 reflects significant global variation.

Notable Outliers

The top of the ranking is competitive: Monaco and San Marino are separated by only 1%, indicating that the leading positions could shift with updated data. The bottom five countries are all from Africa, pointing to regional challenges that affect life expectancy across the continent.

Continental Leaders

Europe

Monaco

86.372

Asia

Hong Kong

85.511

North America

Saint Barthélemy

84.29

Oceania

French Polynesia

84.07

Africa

Réunion

83.547

South America

Chile

81.167

Highest Ranked

The top five countries for Life Expectancy are Monaco (86.372), San Marino (85.706), Hong Kong (85.511), Japan (84.712), and South Korea (84.329). Together, these nations represent the global leaders in this metric.

Lowest Ranked

At the other end of the spectrum, Nigeria (54.462), Chad (55.069), Lesotho (57.375), Central African Republic (57.408), and South Sudan (57.617) have the lowest values globally.

Data Source & Methodology

Rankings are based on the latest available data from Our World in Data, covering 236 of 249 countries and territories. Countries without data for this metric are excluded from the ranking. All values represent the most recently reported figures.

Top 10 Countries

South Korea84.3 years

6th

Saint Barthélemy84.3 years

7th

French Polynesia84.1 years

8th

Andorra84.0 years

9th

Switzerland84.0 years

10th

Australia83.9 years

Full Rankings

Life Expectancy ranking for 236 countries
				Percentile
1st	Monaco	86.4 years	Europe	100%
2nd	San Marino	85.7 years	Europe	100%
3rd	Hong Kong	85.5 years	Asia	99%
4th	Japan	84.7 years	Asia	99%
5th	South Korea	84.3 years	Asia	98%
6th	Saint Barthélemy	84.3 years	North America	98%
7th	French Polynesia	84.1 years	Oceania	97%
8th	Andorra	84.0 years	Europe	97%
9th	Switzerland	84.0 years	Europe	97%
10th	Australia	83.9 years	Oceania	96%
11th	Singapore	83.7 years	Asia	96%
12th	Italy	83.7 years	Europe	95%
13th	Spain	83.7 years	Europe	95%
14th	Liechtenstein	83.6 years	Europe	94%
15th	Gibraltar	83.6 years	Europe	94%
16th	Réunion	83.5 years	Africa	94%
17th	France	83.3 years	Europe	93%
18th	Norway	83.3 years	Europe	93%
19th	Malta	83.3 years	Europe	92%
20th	Guernsey	83.3 years	Europe	92%
21st	Sweden	83.3 years	Europe	92%
22nd	Macao	83.1 years	Asia	91%
23rd	Holy See	83.0 years	Europe	91%
24th	United Arab Emirates	82.9 years	Asia	90%
25th	Iceland	82.7 years	Europe	90%
26th	Canada	82.6 years	North America	89%
27th	Martinique	82.6 years	North America	89%
28th	Ireland	82.4 years	Europe	89%
29th	Israel	82.4 years	Asia	88%
30th	Qatar	82.4 years	Asia	88%
31st	Portugal	82.4 years	Europe	87%
32nd	Bermuda	82.3 years	North America	87%
33rd	Luxembourg	82.2 years	Europe	86%
34th	Netherlands	82.2 years	Europe	86%
35th	Belgium	82.1 years	Europe	86%
36th	New Zealand	82.1 years	Oceania	85%
37th	Guadeloupe	82.1 years	North America	85%
38th	Austria	82.0 years	Europe	84%
39th	Denmark	81.9 years	Europe	84%
40th	Finland	81.9 years	Europe	83%
41st	Greece	81.9 years	Europe	83%
42nd	Puerto Rico	81.7 years	North America	83%
43rd	Cyprus	81.6 years	Europe	82%
44th	Slovenia	81.6 years	Europe	82%
45th	Germany	81.4 years	Europe	81%
46th	United Kingdom	81.3 years	Europe	81%
47th	Bahrain	81.3 years	Asia	81%
48th	Chile	81.2 years	South America	80%
49th	Maldives	81.0 years	Asia	80%
50th	Isle of Man	81.0 years	Europe	79%
51st	Costa Rica	80.8 years	North America	79%
52nd	Taiwan	80.6 years	Asia	78%
53rd	Kuwait	80.4 years	Asia	78%
54th	Cayman Islands	80.4 years	North America	78%
55th	Saint Martin	80.2 years	North America	77%
56th	Faroe Islands	80.2 years	Europe	77%
57th	Oman	80.0 years	Asia	76%
58th	Czechia	79.8 years	Europe	76%
59th	Jersey	79.7 years	Europe	75%
60th	Albania	79.6 years	Europe	75%
61st	Panama	79.6 years	North America	75%
62nd	Anguilla	79.3 years	North America	74%
63rd	United States	79.3 years	North America	74%
64th	Falkland Islands	79.2 years	South America	73%
65th	Estonia	79.2 years	Europe	73%
66th	Northern Mariana Islands	78.8 years	Oceania	72%
67th	New Caledonia	78.8 years	Oceania	72%
68th	Saudi Arabia	78.7 years	Asia	72%
69th	Poland	78.6 years	Europe	71%
70th	Wallis and Futuna	78.6 years	Oceania	71%
71st	Croatia	78.6 years	Europe	70%
72nd	Slovakia	78.3 years	Europe	70%
73rd	Uruguay	78.1 years	South America	69%
74th	Cuba	78.1 years	North America	69%
75th	Turks and Caicos Islands	78.0 years	North America	69%
76th	China	78.0 years	Asia	68%
77th	Bosnia and Herzegovina	77.9 years	Europe	68%
78th	Lebanon	77.8 years	Asia	67%
79th	Jordan	77.8 years	Asia	67%
80th	Peru	77.7 years	South America	67%
81st	Colombia	77.7 years	North America	66%
82nd	Iran	77.7 years	Asia	66%
83rd	Antigua and Barbuda	77.6 years	North America	65%
84th	Sri Lanka	77.5 years	Asia	65%
85th	Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba	77.4 years	North America	64%
86th	Argentina	77.4 years	South America	64%
87th	North Macedonia	77.4 years	Europe	64%
88th	Ecuador	77.4 years	South America	63%
89th	British Virgin Islands	77.3 years	North America	63%
90th	Guam	77.2 years	Oceania	62%
91st	Turkey	77.2 years	Europe	62%
92nd	Montenegro	77.1 years	Europe	61%
93rd	Tokelau	77.1 years	Oceania	61%
94th	Hungary	77.0 years	Europe	61%
95th	French Guiana	77.0 years	North America	60%
96th	Curaçao	76.8 years	North America	60%
97th	Saint Helena	76.8 years	Africa	59%
98th	Serbia	76.8 years	Europe	59%
99th	Saint Pierre and Miquelon	76.8 years	North America	58%
100th	Malaysia	76.7 years	Asia	58%
101st	Tunisia	76.5 years	Africa	58%
102nd	Thailand	76.4 years	Asia	57%
103rd	Sint Maarten	76.4 years	North America	57%
104th	Aruba	76.4 years	North America	56%
105th	Algeria	76.3 years	Africa	56%
106th	Latvia	76.2 years	Europe	56%
107th	Montserrat	76.2 years	North America	55%
108th	Barbados	76.2 years	North America	55%
109th	Cabo Verde	76.1 years	Africa	54%
110th	Mayotte	76.1 years	Africa	54%
111st	Lithuania	76.0 years	Europe	53%
112nd	Romania	75.9 years	Europe	53%
113rd	Brazil	75.8 years	South America	53%
114th	Armenia	75.7 years	Europe	52%
115th	Bulgaria	75.6 years	Europe	52%
116th	U.S. Virgin Islands	75.5 years	North America	51%
117th	Brunei	75.3 years	Asia	51%
118th	Morocco	75.3 years	Africa	50%
119th	Cook Islands	75.3 years	Oceania	50%
120th	Grenada	75.2 years	North America	50%
121st	Mexico	75.1 years	North America	49%
122nd	Nicaragua	74.9 years	North America	49%
123rd	Mauritius	74.9 years	Africa	48%
124th	Bangladesh	74.7 years	Asia	48%
125th	Vietnam	74.6 years	Asia	47%
126th	Bahamas	74.6 years	North America	47%
127th	Georgia	74.5 years	Europe	47%
128th	Belarus	74.4 years	Europe	46%
129th	Azerbaijan	74.4 years	Europe	46%
130th	Kazakhstan	74.4 years	Asia	45%
131st	Paraguay	73.8 years	South America	45%
132nd	Dominican Republic	73.7 years	North America	44%
133rd	North Korea	73.6 years	Asia	44%
134th	Suriname	73.6 years	North America	44%
135th	Belize	73.6 years	North America	43%
136th	Trinidad and Tobago	73.5 years	North America	43%
137th	Ukraine	73.4 years	Europe	42%
138th	Russia	73.2 years	Europe	42%
139th	Bhutan	73.0 years	Asia	42%
140th	Tonga	72.9 years	Oceania	41%
141st	Honduras	72.9 years	North America	41%
142nd	Seychelles	72.9 years	Africa	40%
143rd	American Samoa	72.9 years	Oceania	40%
144th	Saint Lucia	72.7 years	North America	39%
145th	Guatemala	72.6 years	North America	39%
146th	Venezuela	72.5 years	North America	39%
147th	Uzbekistan	72.4 years	Asia	38%
148th	Iraq	72.3 years	Asia	38%
149th	Saint Kitts and Nevis	72.1 years	North America	37%
150th	Syria	72.1 years	Asia	37%
151st	El Salvador	72.1 years	North America	36%
152nd	India	72.0 years	Asia	36%
153rd	Tajikistan	71.8 years	Asia	36%
154th	Mongolia	71.7 years	Asia	35%
155th	Samoa	71.7 years	Oceania	35%
156th	Kyrgyzstan	71.7 years	Asia	34%
157th	Egypt	71.6 years	Africa	34%
158th	Jamaica	71.5 years	North America	33%
159th	Vanuatu	71.5 years	Oceania	33%
160th	Western Sahara	71.4 years	Africa	33%
161st	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	71.2 years	North America	32%
162nd	Moldova	71.2 years	Europe	32%
163rd	Indonesia	71.1 years	Asia	31%
164th	Dominica	71.1 years	North America	31%
165th	Cambodia	70.7 years	Asia	31%
166th	Solomon Islands	70.5 years	Oceania	30%
167th	Nepal	70.4 years	Asia	30%
168th	Guyana	70.2 years	North America	29%
169th	Turkmenistan	70.1 years	Asia	29%
170th	Greenland	70.1 years	North America	28%
171st	Niue	70.0 years	Oceania	28%
172nd	Philippines	69.8 years	Asia	28%
173rd	Sao Tome and Principe	69.7 years	Africa	27%
174th	Libya	69.3 years	Africa	27%
175th	Yemen	69.3 years	Asia	26%
176th	Palau	69.3 years	Oceania	26%
177th	Botswana	69.2 years	Africa	25%
178th	Laos	69.0 years	Asia	25%
179th	Senegal	68.7 years	Africa	25%
180th	Eritrea	68.6 years	Africa	24%
181st	Bolivia	68.6 years	South America	24%
182nd	Mauritania	68.5 years	Africa	23%
183rd	Gabon	68.3 years	Africa	23%
184th	Uganda	68.3 years	Africa	22%
185th	Rwanda	67.8 years	Africa	22%
186th	Timor-Leste	67.7 years	Asia	22%
187th	Pakistan	67.6 years	Asia	21%
188th	Namibia	67.4 years	Africa	21%
189th	Malawi	67.4 years	Africa	20%
190th	Fiji	67.3 years	Oceania	20%
191st	Ethiopia	67.3 years	Africa	19%
192nd	Micronesia	67.2 years	Oceania	19%
193rd	Tuvalu	67.1 years	Oceania	19%
194th	Tanzania	67.0 years	Africa	18%
195th	Marshall Islands	66.9 years	Oceania	18%
196th	Myanmar	66.9 years	Asia	17%
197th	Comoros	66.8 years	Africa	17%
198th	Kiribati	66.5 years	Oceania	17%
199th	Zambia	66.3 years	Africa	16%
200th	Sudan	66.3 years	Africa	16%
201st	South Africa	66.1 years	Africa	15%
202nd	Papua New Guinea	66.1 years	Oceania	15%
203rd	Afghanistan	66.0 years	Asia	14%
204th	Djibouti	66.0 years	Africa	14%
205th	Gambia	65.9 years	Africa	14%
206th	Congo	65.8 years	Africa	13%
207th	Ghana	65.5 years	Africa	13%
208th	Palestine	65.2 years	Asia	12%
209th	Haiti	64.9 years	North America	12%
210th	Angola	64.6 years	Africa	11%
211st	Eswatini	64.1 years	Africa	11%
212nd	Guinea-Bissau	64.1 years	Africa	11%
213rd	Equatorial Guinea	63.7 years	Africa	10%
214th	Cameroon	63.7 years	Africa	10%
215th	Burundi	63.7 years	Africa	9%
216th	Kenya	63.6 years	Africa	9%
217th	Madagascar	63.6 years	Africa	8%
218th	Mozambique	63.6 years	Africa	8%
219th	Zimbabwe	62.8 years	Africa	8%
220th	Togo	62.7 years	Africa	7%
221st	Liberia	62.2 years	Africa	7%
222nd	Nauru	62.1 years	Oceania	6%
223rd	Côte d'Ivoire	61.9 years	Africa	6%
224th	Congo, Democratic Republic	61.9 years	Africa	6%
225th	Sierra Leone	61.8 years	Africa	5%
226th	Niger	61.2 years	Africa	5%
227th	Burkina Faso	61.1 years	Africa	4%
228th	Benin	60.8 years	Africa	4%
229th	Guinea	60.7 years	Africa	3%
230th	Mali	60.4 years	Africa	3%
231st	Somalia	58.8 years	Africa	3%
232nd	South Sudan	57.6 years	Africa	2%
233rd	Central African Republic	57.4 years	Africa	2%
234th	Lesotho	57.4 years	Africa	1%
235th	Chad	55.1 years	Africa	1%
236th	Nigeria	54.5 years	Africa	0%