Top 10 · health
Top 10 countries by life expectancy
Period life expectancy at birth. World Bank / UN Population Division data, latest year 2024, covering 194 countries.
The top 10
1st of 194 · 2024
Monaco86.5 years
- 2ndSan Marino85.8 years
- 3rdKuwait84.6 years
- 4thSwitzerland84.4 years
- 5thLiechtenstein84.2 years
- 6thAndorra84.2 years
- 7thSweden84.1 years
- 8thJapan84 years
- 9thItaly84 years
- 10thSpain83.9 years
The other end · bottom 5 of 194
- 190thLesotho57.8 years
- 191stSouth Sudan57.7 years
- 192ndCentral African Republic57.7 years
- 193rdChad55.2 years
- 194thNigeria54.6 years
Where the big countries land
- 47thUnited States78.9 years
- 55thChina78 years
- 116thIndia72.2 years
- 39thGermany80.8 years
- 79thBrazil76 years
Common questions
Questions people ask about life expectancy
Which country ranks highest for life expectancy?
Monaco ranks 1st of 194 countries at 86.5 years (2024 data). Source: World Bank / UN Population Division.
Which countries are in the top 10 for life expectancy?
The top 10 are Monaco, San Marino, Kuwait, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Andorra, Sweden, Japan, Italy and Spain — computed from World Bank / UN Population Division data, latest year 2024.
Where does the United States rank in life expectancy?
The United States ranks 47th of 194 countries at 78.9 years (2024 data). Source: World Bank / UN Population Division.
What is the median life expectancy worldwide?
Across the 194 countries covered, the median is 73.8 years. Values run from 86.5 years (Monaco, ranked 1st) to 54.6 years (Nigeria, ranked 194th).
Is life expectancy higher in Europe or the US?
The median across 45 European countries is 81.8 years, against 78.9 years in the United States — it is higher in Europe. Source: World Bank / UN Population Division.
Which country ranks lowest for life expectancy?
Nigeria sits at the other end of the list: 54.6 years ranks 194th of 194 (2024 data). Source: World Bank / UN Population Division.
Keep ranking
Keep exploring
More on health
- Health coverageShare of population with health insurance or public coverage.
- Drug deathsDrug overdose deaths per 100,000 population.
- ObesityShare of adults with BMI ≥ 30.
- Infant mortalityDeaths before age one per 1,000 live births.
- Suicide rateDeaths by intentional self-harm per 100,000 population.
- HappinessSelf-reported life satisfaction (Cantril ladder, 0–10), World Happiness Report.
Who leads the world
- Singaporetops homicide rate0.1 per 100k
- Australiatops health coverage100%
- Bulgariatops paid maternity leave59 weeks
Monaco leads on life expectancy — see where it lands on every other measure, and which US state it most resembles.
From the blog: How reliable is World Bank data? · Census, BEA, CDC, BLS: why US state data is unusually good
All 68 measures →Every country ranked →Every US state →All the Top 10s →The overall board →How we read the data →