Life Expectancy by Country 2026

Executive summary

This index ranks 49 of the world's largest economies by life expectancy, using World Bank Open Data for cross-country comparability, and goes beyond a single snapshot: it shows the nominal figure, a ten-year history, a regional breakdown and the biggest movers. Switzerland leads at 84.4 (2024); Nigeria is lowest among those ranked at 54.6. Sweden ranks 2nd of 49 at 84.1 (2024). As reference points, the EU stands at 81.6, the OECD at 80.4 and the world at 73.5. Every figure carries its World Bank series and reference year, and the complete dataset is free to download as CSV and JSON under a CC BY 4.0 licence.

Key findings

Overview

Life expectancy at birth is the single most-used summary of a population's health and living standards. This index ranks countries by average life expectancy (World Bank, compiled from WHO and national statistics).

The spread among advanced economies is narrow — most high-income countries cluster in the low-to-mid 80s — but the gap to lower-income countries remains large, and the pandemic caused a measurable dip in several countries' figures.

What drives the ranking

Life expectancy reflects health-system quality and access, income, diet, smoking and alcohol, and public health. Beyond a certain income level, gains come more from behaviour and prevention than from spending alone.

Japan, Switzerland and the Nordics consistently top the advanced-economy rankings; the United States lags its wealth, a much-cited puzzle linked to inequality, drugs and healthcare access.

What the data reveals

The field is relatively even at the top: the leader, Switzerland, at 84.4 is about 1.0× the median of 81.4 across the 49 economies, and 1.0× the second-placed Sweden. In other words, life expectancy varies widely but without an extreme outlier.

Benchmarked against the OECD average of 80.4, 26 of the 49 ranked economies (53%) come out higher, and 42 exceed the world figure of 73.5. This shows how much of the distribution sits above the rich-world benchmark — a quick read on whether life expectancy is broadly high or concentrated among a few.

What the data says about Sweden: at 84.1 it ranks 2nd of 49 — the top 10% — above the median of 81.4. That places Sweden among the leaders of the field on life expectancy.

The spread is wide: the upper quartile of economies clusters around 83.0 and the lower quartile around 76.5, while the leader Switzerland is 1.5× the lowest-ranked Nigeria (54.6). The quartile split is a cleaner read on typical life expectancy than a simple average, which a few extreme values can distort.

Top 5 vs bottom 5

The five highest and five lowest economies on life expectancy side by side — the clearest snapshot of the range across the 49 ranked economies.

Limitations & notes

This ranking uses the latest year each economy reports to the World Bank; reporting lags differ, so some countries carry data a year or two older than others (see the year column in the full table). It measures life expectancy as the source defines it — not its causes, quality, or wider welfare implications, and not any single 'best' outcome. Every figure is an official World Bank series, not an Affärslivet estimate; the complete dataset with per-country years and sources is free to download and reproduce below.

How it has changed over time

The chart tracks life expectancy for Switzerland (the current leader) against Sweden over the past decade; the table below shows the top economies year by year.

By region

Median life expectancy by world region among the ranked economies. Regional medians reveal patterns the country ranking alone can hide.

Biggest movers

The largest changes in life expectancy over the available window — where the action has been.

Full ranking — 49 economies

Complete ranking by life expectancy, most recent World Bank data, with world region. Region aggregates (EU, OECD, World) appear in the At-a-glance box as reference points.

Scoreboard (machine-readable data)

Every headline indicator with its value, period, source and confidence. Free to reuse under CC BY 4.0.

↓ CSV · ↓ JSON

Methodology & verification

Economies are ranked by life expectancy using the World Bank Open Data API, which harmonises national statistics for cross-country comparison. Each value is the most recent year available for that economy, shown alongside the figure; the trend table uses each economy's reported history. Economies with no reported value are omitted rather than estimated. Region aggregates (EU, euro area, OECD, World) are reference points, not ranked. Period life expectancy assumes today's mortality rates persist and is sensitive to shocks (e.g. the pandemic); it is not a forecast of how long today's newborns will actually live. Confidence: High (official multilateral source).

Data dictionary

Frequently asked questions

Glossary

Life Expectancy

Life expectancy at birth (years) — as reported by the World Bank. ↗

World Bank Open Data

A free, authoritative database of harmonised economic indicators for every country. ↗

Purchasing-power parity (PPP)

A conversion that equalises the price of a comparable basket of goods across countries, so output and incomes can be compared in real terms rather than at market exchange rates. ↗

Nominal (current US$)

A value converted at prevailing market exchange rates and not adjusted for differences in price levels. ↗

GNI per capita

Gross national income per person — like GDP per capita but including net income earned abroad; useful where cross-border corporate flows are large. ↗

Reference year

The year a figure applies to; it can differ across countries because national statistics are published on different schedules. ↗

Region aggregate

A World Bank grouping (e.g. European Union, OECD, World) whose value is a weighted regional total or average, shown here for reference rather than ranked. ↗

Sources

• World Bank Open Data — Life expectancy at birth (years)
• World Health Organization (WHO)
• World Bank Open Data (home)
• IMF World Economic Outlook (comparison)
• OECD Data
• Affärslivet — Sweden Economic Indicators

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• Education Spending by Country 2026
• Affärslivet Business Climate Index
• Sweden Economic Indicators