Top 10 African countries with the lowest life expectancy
Despite being one of Africa's largest economies, Nigeria struggles with systemic challenges that shorten lifespans, including widespread infectious diseases, high poverty rates, insecurity, and a lack of adequate healthcare and infrastructure.
Business Insider Africa presents the top 10 African countries with the lowest life expectancy.
The list is courtesy of the UN's World Population Prospect.
For instance, Nigeria's average life expectancy of 54.6 years is a stark contrast to Monaco, where people live the longest.
Most of us don't sit around wondering how long we'll live. But the average life expectancy in your country says a lot more than just how many birthdays people might celebrate. It's a powerful indicator of how well a society is doing when it comes to healthcare, living conditions, education, nutrition, and even political stability.
Globally, life expectancy can vary depending on where you're born. According to the latest World Population Prospects report by the United Nations, there's a stark divide between high-income and low-income nations.
Wealthier countries, equipped with advanced healthcare systems, cleaner environments, and better infrastructure, tend to have significantly higher life expectancies than poorer nations that grapple with disease, malnutrition, conflict, and poor access to healthcare.
Unfortunately, Africa dominates at the bottom of the global life expectancy chart. Of the 25 countries with the lowest life expectancy in the world, 24 are on the African continent.
This isn't just a coincidence, it reflects deep-seated challenges like underfunded healthcare systems, limited access to clean water and sanitation, high rates of infectious diseases like malaria and HIV/AIDS, and ongoing political or economic instability in many regions.
For instance, Nigeria's average life expectancy of 54.6 years is a stark contrast to Monaco, where people live the longest, with an average of nearly 87 years, a gap of more than 32 years.
Despite being one of Africa's largest economies, Nigeria struggles with systemic challenges that shorten lifespans, including widespread infectious diseases, high poverty rates, insecurity, and a lack of adequate healthcare and infrastructure.
Below are the top 10 African countries with the lowest life expectancy:
Rank Country Life Expectancy (Both Sexes) Life Expectancy (Male) Life Expectancy (Female)
1 Nigeria 🇳🇬 54.6 54.3 54.9
2 Chad 🇹🇩 55.2 53.4 57.2
3 South Sudan 🇸🇸 57.7 54.8 60.8
4 Central African Republic 🇨🇫 57.7 55.5 59.6
5 Lesotho 🇱🇸 57.8 55.0 60.4
6 Somalia 🇸🇴 59.0 56.5 61.5
7 Mali 🇲🇱 60.7 59.3 62.1
8 Guinea 🇬🇳 60.9 59.7 59.7
9 Benin 🇧🇯 61.0 59.5 62.4
10 Burkina Faso 🇧🇫 61.3 59.1 63.4
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