26-05-2025
Can Money Buy Happiness? Maybe Not, But It Can Buy LongevityโLife Expectancy Rankings Revealed
Visual Capitalist's Pallavi Rao illustrates this phenomenon in the above map, which uses 2025 life expectancy at birth projections from the UN World Population Prospects published last year.
Life expectancy at birth measures the average number of years that a newborn could expect to live, if they were subject to the age-specific mortality rates of a given period.
This number visualized is an average between men and women. For extra context, women have higher life expectancies than men in nearly every country in the world.
The micronation of Monaco has the highest average life expectancy in the world. A baby born in the country in 2025 can expect to live to 87 years old. Rank Country ISO Code Average lifeexpectancy at birth,2025 (in years) 1 ๐ฒ๐จ Monaco MCO 87 2 ๐ธ๐ฒ San Marino SMR 86 3 ๐ญ๐ฐ Hong Kong HKG 86 4 ๐ฏ๐ต Japan JPN 85 5 ๐ฐ๐ท South Korea KOR 85 6 ๐ง๐ฑ Saint Barthรฉlemy BLM 85 7 ๐ฆ๐ฉ Andorra AND 84 8 ๐ต๐ซ French Polynesia PYF 84 9 ๐จ๐ญ Switzerland CHE 84 10 ๐ฆ๐บ Australia AUS 84 11 ๐ฎ๐น Italy ITA 84 12 ๐ธ๐ฌ Singapore SGP 84 13 ๐ช๐ธ Spain ESP 84 14 ๐ฑ๐ฎ Liechtenstein LIE 84 15 ๐ท๐ช Rรฉunion REU 84 16 ๐ฌ๐ฎ Gibraltar GIB 84 17 ๐ฒ๐น Malta MLT 84 18 ๐ณ๐ด Norway NOR 84 19 ๐ซ๐ท France FRA 84 20 ๐ธ๐ช Sweden SWE 84 21 ๐ฌ๐ฌ Guernsey GGY 84 22 ๐ฒ๐ด Macao MAC 83 23 ๐ป๐ฆ Holy See VAT 83 24 ๐ฆ๐ช UAE ARE 83 25 ๐ฎ๐ธ Iceland ISL 83 26 ๐ฒ๐ถ Martinique MTQ 83 27 ๐จ๐ฆ Canada CAN 83 28 ๐ฎ๐ฑ Israel ISR 83 29 ๐ฎ๐ช Ireland IRL 83 30 ๐ต๐น Portugal PRT 83 31 ๐ถ๐ฆ Qatar QAT 83 32 ๐ง๐ฒ Bermuda BMU 83 33 ๐ฑ๐บ Luxembourg LUX 82 34 ๐ณ๐ฑ Netherlands NLD 82 35 ๐ง๐ช Belgium BEL 82 36 ๐ฌ๐ต Guadeloupe GLP 82 37 ๐ณ๐ฟ New Zealand NZL 82 38 ๐ฆ๐น Austria AUT 82 39 ๐ฉ๐ฐ Denmark DNK 82 40 ๐ซ๐ฎ Finland FIN 82 41 ๐ฌ๐ท Greece GRC 82 42 ๐ต๐ท Puerto Rico PRI 82 43 ๐จ๐พ Cyprus CYP 82 44 ๐ธ๐ฎ Slovenia SVN 82 45 ๐ฉ๐ช Germany DEU 82 46 ๐ฌ๐ง UK GBR 82 47 ๐ง๐ญ Bahrain BHR 82 48 ๐จ๐ฑ Chile CHL 82 49 ๐ฒ๐ป Maldives MDV 82 50 ๐ฎ๐ฒ Isle of Man IMN 81 51 ๐จ๐ท Costa Rica CRI 81 52 ๐น๐ผ Taiwan TWN 81 53 ๐ฐ๐ผ Kuwait KWT 81 54 ๐ฐ๐พ Cayman Islands CYM 81 55 ๐ฒ๐ซ Saint Martin MAF 81 56 ๐ซ๐ด Faroe Islands FRO 81 57 ๐ด๐ฒ Oman OMN 80 58 ๐จ๐ฟ Czechia CZE 80 59 ๐ฏ๐ช Jersey JEY 80 60 ๐ต๐ฆ Panama PAN 80 61 ๐ฆ๐ฑ Albania ALB 80 62 ๐ฆ๐ฎ Anguilla AIA 80 63 ๐บ๐ธ U.S. USA 80 64 ๐ซ๐ฐ Falkland Islands FLK 80 65 ๐ช๐ช Estonia EST 79 66 ๐ธ๐ฆ Saudi Arabia SAU 79 67 ๐ฒ๐ต Northern Mariana Islands MNP 79 68 ๐ณ๐จ New Caledonia NCL 79 69 ๐ต๐ฑ Poland POL 79 70 ๐ญ๐ท Croatia HRV 79 71 ๐ผ๐ซ Wallis & Futuna Islands WLF 79 72 ๐ธ๐ฐ Slovakia SVK 79 73 ๐บ๐พ Uruguay URY 78 74 ๐จ๐บ Cuba CUB 78 75 ๐ฝ๐ฐ Kosovo XKX 78 76 ๐จ๐ณ China CHN 78 77 ๐น๐จ Turks & Caicos Islands TCA 78 78 ๐ง๐ฆ Bosnia & Herzegovina BIH 78 79 ๐ฏ๐ด Jordan JOR 78 80 ๐ต๐ช Peru PER 78 81 ๐จ๐ด Colombia COL 78 82 ๐ฑ๐ง Lebanon LBN 78 83 ๐ฎ๐ท Iran IRN 78 84 ๐ฆ๐ฌ Antigua and Barbuda ATG 78 85 ๐ฑ๐ฐ Sri Lanka LKA 78 86 ๐น๐ท Tรผrkiye TUR 78 87 ๐ง๐ถ Bonaire BES 78 88 ๐ช๐จ Ecuador ECU 78 89 ๐ฆ๐ท Argentina ARG 78 90 ๐ฒ๐ฐ North Macedonia MKD 78 91 ๐ฌ๐บ Guam GUM 78 92 ๐ป๐ฌ British Virgin Islands VGB 78 93 ๐ด Polynesia (no emoji available) POL 78 94 ๐ฒ๐ช Montenegro MNE 77 95 ๐ฌ๐ซ French Guiana GUF 77 96 ๐ญ๐บ Hungary HUN 77 97 ๐น๐ฐ Tokelau TKL 77 98 ๐จ๐ผ Curaรงao CUW 77 99 ๐ท๐ธ Serbia SRB 77 100 ๐ธ๐ญ Saint Helena SHN 77 101 ๐ต๐ฒ Saint Pierre & Miquelon SPM 77 102 ๐ฒ๐พ Malaysia MYS 77 103 ๐น๐ณ Tunisia TUN 77 104 ๐น๐ญ Thailand THA 77 105 ๐ธ๐ฝ Sint Maarten SXM 77 106 ๐ฉ๐ฟ Algeria DZA 77 107 ๐ฆ๐ผ Aruba ABW 77 108 ๐ง๐ง Barbados BRB 76 109 ๐ฒ๐ธ Montserrat MSR 76 110 ๐ฑ๐ป Latvia LVA 76 111 ๐พ๐น Mayotte MYT 76 112 ๐จ๐ป Cabo Verde CPV 76 113 ๐ฑ๐น Lithuania LTU 76 114 ๐ท๐ด Romania ROU 76 115 ๐ง๐ท Brazil BRA 76 116 ๐ฆ๐ฒ Armenia ARM 76 117 ๐ง๐ฌ Bulgaria BGR 76 118 ๐ป๐ฎ U.S. Virgin Islands VIR 76 119 ๐ฒ๐ฆ Morocco MAR 76 120 ๐ง๐ณ Brunei Darussalam BRN 76 121 ๐จ๐ฐ Cook Islands COK 76 122 ๐ฌ๐ฉ Grenada GRD 76 123 ๐ฒ๐ฝ Mexico MEX 75 124 ๐ฒ๐บ Mauritius MUS 75 125 ๐ณ๐ฎ Nicaragua NIC 75 126 ๐ง๐ฉ Bangladesh BGD 75 127 ๐ป๐ณ Viet Nam VNM 75 128 ๐บ๐ฆ Ukraine UKR 75 129 ๐ง๐ธ Bahamas BHS 75 130 ๐ฌ๐ช Georgia GEO 75 131 ๐ง๐พ Belarus BLR 75 132 ๐ฆ๐ฟ Azerbaijan AZE 75 133 ๐ฐ๐ฟ Kazakhstan KAZ 75 134 ๐ต๐พ Paraguay PRY 74 135 ๐ฉ๐ด Dominican Republic DOM 74 136 ๐ง๐ฟ Belize BLZ 74 137 ๐ธ๐ท Suriname SUR 74 138 ๐ฐ๐ต North Korea PRK 74 139 ๐น๐น Trinidad & Tobago TTO 74 140 ๐ง๐น Bhutan BTN 74 141 ๐ท๐บ Russia RUS 74 142 ๐น๐ด Tonga TON 73 143 ๐ญ๐ณ Honduras HND 73 144 ๐ฑ๐พ Libya LBY 73 145 ๐ธ๐จ Seychelles SYC 73 146 ๐บ๐ธ American Samoa ASM 73 147 ๐ต๐ธ Palestine PSE 73 148 ๐ฑ๐จ Saint Lucia LCA 73 149 ๐ธ๐พ Syria SYR 73 150 ๐ฌ๐น Guatemala GTM 73 151 ๐ป๐ช Venezuela VEN 73 152 ๐บ๐ฟ Uzbekistan UZB 73 153 ๐ฎ๐ถ Iraq IRQ 73 154 ๐ธ๐ป El Salvador SLV 73 155 ๐ฎ๐ณ India IND 72 156 ๐ฐ๐ณ Saint Kitts and Nevis KNA 72 157 ๐ฒ๐ณ Mongolia MNG 72 158 ๐น๐ฏ Tajikistan TJK 72 159 ๐ช๐ฌ Egypt EGY 72 160 ๐ฐ๐ฌ Kyrgyzstan KGZ 72 161 ๐ผ๐ธ Samoa WSM 72 162 ๐ป๐บ Vanuatu VUT 72 163 ๐ช๐ญ Western Sahara ESH 72 164 ๐ฏ๐ฒ Jamaica JAM 72 165 ๐ป๐จ Saint Vincent & the Grenadines VCT 72 166 ๐ฒ๐ฉ Moldova MDA 71 167 ๐ฉ๐ฒ Dominica DMA 71 168 ๐ฎ๐ฉ Indonesia IDN 71 169 ๐ฐ๐ญ Cambodia KHM 71 170 ๐ณ๐ต Nepal NPL 71 171 ๐ธ๐ง Solomon Islands SLB 71 172 ๐ฌ๐พ Guyana GUY 70 173 ๐น๐ฒ Turkmenistan TKM 70 174 ๐ฌ๐ฑ Greenland GRL 70 175 ๐ณ๐บ Niue NIU 70 176 ๐ธ๐น Sao Tome and Principe STP 70 177 ๐ต๐ญ Philippines PHL 70 178 ๐พ๐ช Yemen YEM 70 179 ๐ต๐ผ Palau PLW 69 180 ๐ฑ๐ฆ Laos LAO 69 181 ๐ง๐ผ Botswana BWA 69 182 ๐ธ๐ณ Senegal SEN 69 183 ๐ช๐ท Eritrea ERI 69 184 ๐ฒ๐ท Mauritania MRT 69 185 ๐ง๐ด Bolivia BOL 69 186 ๐บ๐ฌ Uganda UGA 69 187 ๐ฌ๐ฆ Gabon GAB 69 188 ๐ท๐ผ Rwanda RWA 68 189 ๐น๐ฑ Timor-Leste TLS 68 190 ๐ต๐ฐ Pakistan PAK 68 191 ๐ช๐น Ethiopia ETH 68 192 ๐ฒ๐ผ Malawi MWI 68 193 ๐ณ๐ฆ Namibia NAM 68 194 ๐ซ๐ฏ Fiji FJI 68 195 ๐ซ๐ฒ Micronesia FSM 68 196 ๐น๐ฟ Tanzania TZA 67 197 ๐น๐ป Tuvalu TUV 67 198 ๐ฒ๐ฒ Myanmar MMR 67 199 ๐ฐ๐ฒ Comoros COM 67 200 ๐ฒ๐ญ Marshall Islands MHL 67 201 ๐ฐ๐ฎ Kiribati KIR 67 202 ๐ธ๐ฉ Sudan SDN 67 203 ๐ฟ๐ฒ Zambia ZMB 67 204 ๐ฆ๐ซ Afghanistan AFG 67 205 ๐ฟ๐ฆ South Africa ZAF 66 206 ๐ฉ๐ฏ Djibouti DJI 66 207 ๐ต๐ฌ Papua New Guinea PNG 66 208 ๐ฌ๐ฒ Gambia GMB 66 209 ๐จ๐ฌ Congo COG 66 210 ๐ฌ๐ญ Ghana GHA 66 211 ๐ญ๐น Haiti HTI 65 212 ๐ฆ๐ด Angola AGO 65 213 ๐ฌ๐ผ Guinea-Bissau GNB 64 214 ๐ธ๐ฟ Eswatini SWZ 64 215 ๐จ๐ฒ Cameroon CMR 64 216 ๐ฌ๐ถ Equatorial Guinea GNQ 64 217 ๐ฒ๐ฌ Madagascar MDG 64 218 ๐ฐ๐ช Kenya KEN 64 219 ๐ง๐ฎ Burundi BDI 64 220 ๐ฒ๐ฟ Mozambique MOZ 64 221 ๐ฟ๐ผ Zimbabwe ZWE 63 222 ๐น๐ฌ Togo TGO 63 223 ๐ฑ๐ท Liberia LBR 62 224 ๐ณ๐ท Nauru NRU 62 225 ๐จ๐ฎ Cรดte d'Ivoire CIV 62 226 ๐จ๐ฉ DRC COD 62 227 ๐ธ๐ฑ Sierra Leone SLE 62 228 ๐ณ๐ช Niger NER 62 229 ๐ง๐ซ Burkina Faso BFA 61 230 ๐ง๐ฏ Benin BEN 61 231 ๐ฌ๐ณ Guinea GIN 61 232 ๐ฒ๐ฑ Mali MLI 61 233 ๐ธ๐ด Somalia SOM 59 234 ๐ฑ๐ธ Lesotho LSO 58 235 ๐จ๐ซ Central African Republic CAF 58 236 ๐ธ๐ธ South Sudan SSD 58 237 ๐น๐ฉ Chad TCD 55 238 ๐ณ๐ฌ Nigeria NGA 55
Note: Figures rounded.
Most of the top 10 countries are similarly small-sized territories or countries.
However, Japan (#4), South Korea (#5), and Australia (#10) are the three top-10 countries with the highest life expectancies (84+) when accounting for a population of more than 20 million people.
Regionally, Western European countries have the highest life expectancies at birth. Their counterparts in Eastern Europe are a shade lower.
And despite Japan and South Korea's performance, most Asians have life expectancies between 70โ80 years. Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Papua New Guinea are below the 70-year threshold.
However, several African countries have a below-60 life expectancy, a projected lifespan that is a full 20 years shorter than Western European residents.
Nigeria has the lowest average life expectancy at birth, at 55 years.
Life expectancies are tricky things to fully comprehend: in that they change throughout a person's lifespan and are measured for entire cohorts born in a year.
For example, in countries with lower projected expectancies, it doesn't necessarily mean adults don't live as long.
A high infant mortality rate for a particular cohort of babies born in a year could reduce the projected lifespan of the entire cohort. However once a baby from that year survives to adulthood, they may very well reach their 70s.
In fact, data shows that the biggest difference between life expectancies of Africa and high-income regions are for those before the age of 5 and after 60.
This is because both babies and older adults have a need for specific medical infrastructure which many Africans don't have access to.
There is a strong correlation between wealth and longer lifespans. Check out Countries with the Highest GDP per Capita in 2024 to see similarities.