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Global life expectancy at birth increased from about 32 years in 1900 to about 71 years in 2021, rising across all regions and age groups.
Life expectancy has risen dramatically worldwide since 1900. In 1900, the average life expectancy at birth was about 32 years; by 2021 it had more than doubled to around 71 years, with the global average in 2021 just over 70 years. This improvement occurred across all regions and at all ages, not only through reductions in child mortality. The rise is linked to broad advances in health and living conditions, including better nutrition, clean water, sanitation, neonatal care, antibiotics, vaccines, and public health efforts, alongside economic growth and poverty reduction. Although child mortality declines were important early on, recent decades show large mortality reductions across infants, children, adults, and the elderly—meaning death is being delayed rather than only prevented in early life. Life expectancy has also surpassed many historical predictions of a “limit,” with record highs continuing to rise over time. Despite overall gains, life expectancy varies widely between countries and even within countries: for example, in 2021 Nigeria’s life expectancy was about 30 years lower than Japan’s, and lower-average countries often show wider lifespan variation. Women generally live longer than men, but the size of the sex gap changes over time and differs by country, influenced by factors such as war, differences in early-life vulnerability, and adult causes of death (including smoking). Major events like the World Wars, the 1918 Spanish flu, HIV/AIDS, and COVID-19 have left visible marks on mortality and life expectancy trends.
Global life expectancy at birth increased from about 32 years in 1900 to about 71 years in 2021, rising across all regions and age groups.
Reductions in mortality at every age—driven by advances in medicine, public health, and living standards—have delayed death rather than only lowering child mortality.
Life expectancy differs greatly between countries and within countries, and women typically live longer than men, with a sex gap that varies over time and place.
A metric that summarizes death rates across all age groups in a single year to estimate the average lifespan of a hypothetical group exposed to those age-specific death rates throughout life.
The difference in life expectancy between women and men, which varies by country and changes over time due to age-specific mortality differences.
The variation in how long people live within a population, which tends to be larger in countries with lower average life expectancy.
The likelihood that a person will die at a specific age, used to analyze mortality patterns and longevity.
The idea that historical predictions of a maximum achievable life expectancy have repeatedly been exceeded as mortality improvements continued.
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