Life Expectancy by Country 2025: Full Global Rankings

Where you are born is one of the single strongest predictors of how long you will live. A child born in Japan can expect to live more than 30 years longer than a child born in some sub-Saharan African nations. This gap — 30 full years — is not fate. It is the product of healthcare systems, diet, economic development, environmental factors, and social infrastructure. Understanding these differences is the first step to understanding your own health outlook.

Global Life Expectancy Rankings

The following data draws from World Health Organization (WHO) statistics and is updated for 2025. Life expectancy figures represent average at birth for the total population (both sexes combined).

Why Japan Lives Longest

Japan has held a top-three position in global life expectancy rankings for decades. The reasons are well-studied:

• Diet. The traditional Japanese diet is rich in fish, seaweed, vegetables, tofu, and fermented foods. It is low in saturated fat, high in omega-3 fatty acids, and calorie-moderate. The concept of hara hachi bü — eating until 80% full — is culturally embedded, particularly in Okinawa, Japan's longest-lived prefecture.
• Universal healthcare. Japan has had universal health coverage since 1961. Regular check-ups, early cancer screening, and accessible preventive care dramatically reduce mortality from treatable conditions.
• Low obesity rates. Japan has one of the lowest adult obesity rates among developed nations — around 4.3%, compared to 36% in the United States. Obesity is a primary risk factor for heart disease, diabetes, and several cancers.
• Social cohesion. Strong community ties, a concept called ikigai (a reason for living), and active social lives in old age are linked to lower rates of depression, cognitive decline, and early mortality.

The Five Factors That Drive Life Expectancy

Researchers have identified five broad categories that explain most of the variation in life expectancy between countries:

Why the United States Underperforms

At 78.5 years, the United States ranks 27th globally — behind almost every other high-income nation. This is a significant underperformance given that the U.S. spends roughly $12,000 per person per year on healthcare, more than double many peer nations. The reasons are well-documented:

High rates of obesity (36% of adults), a fragmented healthcare system without universal coverage, high gun violence rates, the opioid epidemic, and a car-centric culture with low walkability all contribute. The U.S. also has high rates of income inequality, which consistently predicts worse health outcomes even within wealthy nations.

Interestingly, life expectancy in the U.S. had been slowly improving for decades — then peaked in 2014 and began declining, a trend accelerated sharply by COVID-19. By 2022, U.S. life expectancy had fallen to levels not seen since the late 1990s.

The Gender Gap in Life Expectancy

Across almost every country in the world, women outlive men — typically by 5 to 7 years. The reasons are biological, behavioral, and social. Women have stronger immune systems (linked to the second X chromosome), lower rates of heart disease in their pre-menopausal years, and are more likely to seek medical care. Men have higher rates of occupational deaths, more risk-taking behavior, higher smoking and alcohol rates, and are less likely to maintain social connections in old age — which is itself an independent mortality risk factor.

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