Life Expectancy at Birth in United States
United States: Life Expectancy at Birth was 78.89 in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
78.89
Change on year
up 0.6%
World rank
61st
of 216 countries
All-time high
78.89
in 2024
All-time low
69.77
in 1960
Years of data
65
1960–2024
Life Expectancy at Birth in United States, 1960–2024
Source: International Monetary Fund.
Analysis
United States recorded 78.89 for life expectancy at birth in 2024. That is the highest value across all 65 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.6% on the previous year and up 0.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy at birth in United States peaked at 78.89 in 2024 and was at its lowest, 69.77, in 1960.
That places United States 61st out of 216 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 65 years of available data.
Life Expectancy at Birth in United States, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 69.77 | — |
| 1961 | 70.27 | +0.7% |
| 1962 | 70.12 | -0.2% |
| 1963 | 69.92 | -0.3% |
| 1964 | 70.17 | +0.4% |
| 1965 | 70.21 | +0.1% |
| 1966 | 70.21 | -0.0% |
| 1967 | 70.56 | +0.5% |
| 1968 | 69.95 | -0.9% |
| 1969 | 70.51 | +0.8% |
| 1970 | 70.81 | +0.4% |
| 1971 | 71.11 | +0.4% |
| 1972 | 71.16 | +0.1% |
| 1973 | 71.36 | +0.3% |
| 1974 | 71.96 | +0.8% |
| 1975 | 72.6 | +0.9% |
| 1976 | 72.86 | +0.3% |
| 1977 | 73.26 | +0.5% |
| 1978 | 73.36 | +0.1% |
| 1979 | 73.8 | +0.6% |
| 1980 | 73.61 | -0.3% |
| 1981 | 74.01 | +0.5% |
| 1982 | 74.36 | +0.5% |
| 1983 | 74.46 | +0.1% |
| 1984 | 74.56 | +0.1% |
| 1985 | 74.56 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 74.61 | +0.1% |
| 1987 | 74.77 | +0.2% |
| 1988 | 74.77 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 75.02 | +0.3% |
| 1990 | 75.21 | +0.3% |
| 1991 | 75.37 | +0.2% |
| 1992 | 75.62 | +0.3% |
| 1993 | 75.42 | -0.3% |
| 1994 | 75.62 | +0.3% |
| 1995 | 75.62 | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 76.03 | +0.5% |
| 1997 | 76.43 | +0.5% |
| 1998 | 76.58 | +0.2% |
| 1999 | 76.58 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 76.64 | +0.1% |
| 2001 | 76.84 | +0.3% |
| 2002 | 76.94 | +0.1% |
| 2003 | 77.04 | +0.1% |
| 2004 | 77.49 | +0.6% |
| 2005 | 77.49 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 77.69 | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 77.99 | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 78.04 | +0.1% |
| 2009 | 78.39 | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 78.54 | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 78.64 | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 78.74 | +0.1% |
| 2013 | 78.74 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 78.84 | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 78.69 | -0.2% |
| 2016 | 78.54 | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 78.54 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 78.64 | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 78.79 | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 76.98 | -2.3% |
| 2021 | 76.33 | -0.8% |
| 2022 | 77.43 | +1.4% |
| 2023 | 78.39 | +1.2% |
| 2024 | 78.89 | +0.6% |
United States compared with similar countries
- United States's 78.89 is below the median for high income countries, which is 81.36, 97% of the median. (85 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 70.17 | 69.77 | 70.56 | 10 |
| 1970s | 72.23 | 70.81 | 73.8 | 10 |
| 1980s | 74.47 | 73.61 | 75.02 | 10 |
| 1990s | 75.85 | 75.21 | 76.58 | 10 |
| 2000s | 77.45 | 76.64 | 78.39 | 10 |
| 2010s | 78.67 | 78.54 | 78.84 | 10 |
| 2020s | 77.6 | 76.33 | 78.89 | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States
More gender data for United States
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) 57,835 (2030)
- Child population (UN estimates and projections) (0-14), annual growth -0.4626 % change on previous year (2030)
- Population 297,814 (2030)
- Working-age population (UN estimates and projections) 297,814 (2030)
- Population (UN estimates and projections), annual growth rate 0.6312 % change on previous year (2030)
- Age population, age 00, female, interpolated 1.79 million (2025)
- Age population, age 00, male, interpolated 1.88 million (2025)
- Age population, age 01, female, interpolated 1.80 million (2025)
- Age population, age 01, male, interpolated 1.89 million (2025)
- Age population, age 02, female, interpolated 1.83 million (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy at birth in United States?
- Life expectancy at birth in United States was 78.89 in 2024, according to International Monetary Fund.
- What is the highest life expectancy at birth recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 78.89 in 2024.
- What is the lowest life expectancy at birth recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 69.77 in 1960.
- How does United States rank for life expectancy at birth?
- United States ranks 61st out of 216 countries with data for 2024.
- Is life expectancy at birth rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States data come from?
- The figures come from International Monetary Fund, published as part of Life Expectancy at Birth. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Gender-disaggregated data on health outcomes.