Life Expectancy and Average Human Lifespan: How Long Do People Live?

Our planet earth is the only place in the universe where life exists. Life thrives on earth in all sorts of forms — from single-cell bacteria to the most advanced organism Homo sapiens — that is the human beings. If you think about it, life is indeed a miracle. Every organism wants to live as long as possible for it. But as death is inevitable — people often wonder about the life expectancy of human beings. How long can a man or woman live on average? Questions like what is the human life expectancy of the world? and what is average human lifespan? often become the topics of discussion. In this article we take a look at the answers of these questions.

What is Life Expectancy?

Life expectancy, sometimes referred to as longevity, is a average statistical measure for deducing how long an organism is expected to live. For humans, the life expectancy is calculated by taking into account the current age of the individual and other factors like gender and location. We will discuss these factors in detail a bit later. There are two ways to calculate the life expectancy.

1. Cohort Life Expectancy at Birth (Cohort LEB)

Cohort LEB is calculated from the average life expectancy of individuals born in the same year. Let’s take an example. If we want to calculate the cohort life expectancy at age 69 years in the year 2020, we would calculate it on the basis of mortality rate for age 69 years in 2020.

2. Period Life Expectancy (Period LEB)

Period LEB is the average length of life of a hypothetical cohort assumed to be exposed, from birth through death, to the mortality rates observed at a given year. Period life expectancy tend to be lower than cohort life expectancy, because it does not include any assumptions about future improvements in mortality rates.

Longest Living Humans

The top ten longest living human beings have all been women. The oldest human on record is a French woman named Jeanne Calment who was born on 21 February 1875 and went on to live for an age of 122 years and 164 days. Ms. Calment died on 04 August 1997. Following table shows the details of the top ten oldest people in the world.

Oldest people in the world

Rank	Name	Gender	Birth date	Death date	Age	Country
1	Jeanne Calment	Woman	21 February 1875	4 August 1997	122 years, 164 days	France
2	Sarah Knauss	Woman	24 September 1880	30 December 1999	119 years, 97 days	United States
3	Kane Tanaka	Woman	2 January 1903	Living	117 years, 308 days	Japan
4	Nabi Tajima	Woman	4 August 1900	21 April 2018	117 years, 260 days	Japan
5	Lucy Hannah	Woman	16 July 1875	21 March 1993	117 years, 248 days	United States
6	Marie-Louise Meilleur	Woman	29 August 1880	16 April 1998	117 years, 230 days	Canada
7	Violet Brown	Woman	10 March 1900	15 September 2017	117 years, 189 days	Jamaica
8	Emma Morano	Woman	29 November 1899	15 April 2017	117 years, 137 days	Italy
9	Chiyo Miyako	Woman	2 May 1901	22 July 2018	117 years, 81 days	Japan
10	Misao Okawa	Woman	5 March 1898	1 April 2015	117 years, 27 days	Japan

The oldest man in the world was Jiroemon Kimura of Japan. Mr. Kimura was born on 19 April 1897 and he died on 12 June 2013 at the age of 116 years and 54 days.

Factors Affecting Life Expectancy for Humans

Although everyone wants to live as long as possible, external factors have a huge impact on the average lifespan of human beings. In 2020, the average human life expectancy or the average human lifespan is 69.7 years. Following are some of the factors which affect this average.

1. Gender

Statistically, women live considerably longer than men. In most societies, men smoke and drink much more than women. This causes men to die from medical conditions like lung cancer, tuberculosis and cirrhosis. Men are also more likely to die due to wars and battles. Men are also more likely to sustain life-threatening injuries as they hunt for food, work in the fields and factories. These factors outweigh the likelihood of women dying due to conditions like breast cancer, cervical cancer or child-birth.

2. Poverty

Average human lifespan is lower in poorer countries. Wealthier people can afford best of living conditions, including nutritious food and safety. They can also afford state-of-the-art medical facilities. In contrast, poorer people, especially in acute poverty, may fail to acquire food or medical assistance and die prematurely.

Richer countries like USA, Canada, UK and European nations have significantly higher life expectancy than the much poorer nations in Africa.

3. Genetics

Scientist have identified several loci in human genome which influence the life expectancy and thus the average human lifespan. A study published in July 2020 suggests that high levels of iron in the blood likely reduce, and genes involved in metabolising iron likely increase healthy years of life in humans.

4. Education

Higher level of education in a society is likely to increase the average lifespan on its individuals. This is partly because of the better income opportunities made possible by the higher education. A more educated society is also more likely to keep itself safe from diseases and conflicts.

5. Diseases

Certain areas in the world have endemic diseases that cause the average lifespan to reduce. Viral diseases, bacterial disease and vector-born diseases may become endemic to a specific area. These diseases periodically appear and kill human beings prematurely.

Average Human Lifespan in Countries

The average lifespan of human all across the world is 69.7 years.

The following table given the country-wise average human life expectancy, according to the “Human Development Report 2019” by the United Nations.

Country-wise life expectancy of men and women

Countries and regions	Overall (years)	Female (years)	Male (years)
Hong Kong	84.7	87.6	81.8
Japan	84.5	87.5	81.1
Singapore	83.8	85.8	81.5
Italy	83.6	85.5	81.7
Spain	83.4	86.1	80.7
Switzerland	83.4	85.3	81.1
Australia	83.3	85.3	81.3
Iceland	82.9	84.4	81.3
Israel	82.8	84.4	81.1
South Korea	82.8	85.8	79.7
Sweden	82.7	84.4	80.9
France	82.5	85.4	79.6
Malta	82.4	84.1	80.5
Canada	82.3	84.3	80.3
Norway	82.3	84.3	80.3
Greece	82.1	84.5	79.6
Ireland	82.1	83.7	80.4
Luxembourg	82.1	84.2	80
Netherlands	82.1	83.8	80.4
New Zealand	82.1	83.9	80.4
Portugal	81.9	84.7	78.8
Andorra	81.8	–	–
Finland	81.7	84.6	78.9
Belgium	81.5	83.8	79.1
Austria	81.4	83.8	79
Germany	81.2	83.6	78.8
Slovenia	81.2	83.9	78.4
United Kingdom	81.2	83	79.5
European Union	81.2	83.8	78.6
Cyprus	80.8	82.9	78.7
Denmark	80.8	82.8	77.8
Liechtenstein	80.5	–	–
Costa Rica	80.1	82.7	77.5
Chile	80	82.4	77.6
Czech Republic	79.2	81.8	76.6
Barbados	79.1	80.4	77.7
Lebanon	78.9	80.8	77.1
United States	78.9	81.4	76.3
Cuba	78.6	80.6	76.7
Estonia	78.6	82.4	73.9
Poland	78.5	82.4	74.6
Croatia	78.3	81.5	75.1
Panama	78.3	81.6	75.2
Turkey	78.3	81	75.6
United Arab Emirates	77.8	79.2	77.1
Uruguay	77.8	81.4	74
Oman	77.6	80.1	75.9
Slovakia	77.4	80.8	73.8
Bosnia and Herzegovina	77.3	79.7	74.8
Bahrain	77.2	78.3	76.3
Colombia	77.1	79.9	74.3
Antigua and Barbuda	76.9	78	75.7
Thailand	76.9	80.7	73.2
Ecuador	76.8	79.6	74.1
Montenegro	76.8	79.2	74.3
Sri Lanka	76.8	80.1	73.4
Algeria	76.7	77.9	75.5
Hungary	76.7	80.1	73.1
People’s Republic of China	76.7	79.1	74.5
Argentina	76.5	79.9	73.1
Iran	76.5	77.7	75.4
Morocco	76.5	77.7	75.2
Peru	76.5	79.3	73.8
Tunisia	76.5	78.5	74.5
Malaysia	76.1	78.3	74.2
Saint Lucia	76.1	77.4	74.7
Romania	75.9	79.4	72.5
Serbia	75.8	78.5	73.3
Brazil	75.7	79.4	72
Brunei	75.7	77	74.6
Lithuania	75.7	81.2	70.1
North Macedonia	75.7	77.7	73.7
Kuwait	75.4	76.5	74.7
Latin America and the Caribbean	75.4	78.6	72.3
East Asia , Southeast Asia and Oceania	75.3	77.8	72.9
Vietnam	75.3	79.4	71.2
Latvia	75.2	79.9	70.1
Honduras	75.1	77.4	72.8
Mexico	75	77.8	72.1
Saudi Arabia	75	76.6	73.8
Armenia	74.9	78.4	71.2
Bulgaria	74.9	78.5	71.4
Mauritius	74.9	78.4	71.5
Belarus	74.6	79.4	69.4
Saint Kitts and Nevis	74.6
Belize	74.5	77.7	71.6
Jamaica	74.4	76	72.8
Jordan	74.4	76.2	72.7
Nicaragua	74.3	77.8	70.7
Europe and Central Asia	74.2	77.5	70.8
Guatemala	74.1	76.9	71.1
Paraguay	74.1	76.3	72.2
Dominican Republic	73.9	77.2	70.8
Marshall Islands	73.9
Palestine	73.9	75.6	72.3
Bahamas	73.8	75.9	71.5
Palau	73.7
Georgia	73.6	78	69.2
Trinidad and Tobago	73.4	76.1	70.8
Seychelles	73.3	77.3	69.8
Kazakhstan	73.2	77.3	68.8
Samoa	73.2	75.3	71.2
El Salvador	73.1	77.6	68.2
Azerbaijan	72.9	75.3	70.3
Cabo Verde	72.8	76	69.3
Solomon Islands	72.8	74.7	71.2
Libya	72.7	75.8	69.9
World	72.6	74.9	70.4
Grenada	72.4	74.9	70.1
Russia	72.4	77.6	66.9
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	72.4	75	70.2
Bangladesh	72.3	74.3	70.6
Venezuela	72.1	76.1	68.4
Ukraine	72	76.7	67
Arab States	71.9	73.8	70.2
Egypt	71.8	74.2	69.6
Moldova	71.8	76.1	67.5
Syria	71.8	77.8	66.6
Suriname	71.6	74.9	68.4
Bhutan	71.5	71.8	71.1
Indonesia	71.5	73.7	69.4
Uzbekistan	71.5	73.7	69.4
Kyrgyzstan	71.3	75.5	67.3
Bolivia	71.2	74.2	68.4
Philippines	71.1	75.4	67.1
Tajikistan	70.9	73.2	68.7
Tonga	70.8	72.8	68.9
Iraq	70.5	72.5	68.4
Nepal	70.5	71.9	69
Vanuatu	70.3	72	68.8
Sao Tome and Principe	70.2	72.6	67.8
Guyana	69.8	73	66.8
Mongolia	69.7	74	65.6
South Asia	69.7	71.1	68.5
Cambodia	69.6	71.6	67.3
India	69.4	70.7	68.2
Botswana	69.3	72	66.2
Timor Leste	69.3	71.4	67.3
Rwanda	68.7	70.8	66.5
Kiribati	68.1	72.1	64
Turkmenistan	68.1	71.6	64.6
Federated States of Micronesia	67.8	69.5	66.1
Senegal	67.7	69.6	65.5
Laos	67.6	69.4	65.8
Fiji	67.3	69.2	65.6
Pakistan	67.1	68.1	66.2
Myanmar	66.9	69.9	63.8
Madagascar	66.7	68.3	65.1
Djibouti	66.6	68.8	64.6
Ethiopia	66.2	68.2	64.4
Gabon	66.2	68.9	64.2
Yemen	66.1	67.8	64.4
Eritrea	65.9	68.2	63.8
Sudan	65.1	66.9	63.3
Tanzania	65	66.8	63.2
Mauritania	64.7	66.3	63.1
Afghanistan	64.5	66	63
Congo, Republic of	64.3	65.7	62.8
Papua New Guinea	64.3	65.6	63
Comoros	64.1	65.9	62.4
South Africa	63.9	67.4	60.5
Ghana	63.8	64.9	62.7
Malawi	63.8	66.9	60.7
Haiti	63.7	65.8	61.5
Liberia	63.7	65.1	62.3
Zambia	63.5	66.4	60.5
Namibia	63.4	66.2	60.4
Kenya	63.3	68.7	64
Uganda	63	65.2	60.7
Niger	62	63.2	60.9
Gambia	61.7	63.2	60.4
Benin	61.5	63	59.9
Burkina Faso	61.2	61.9	60.4
Burundi	61.2	63	59.4
Guinea	61.2	61.7	60.5
Sub-Saharan Africa	61.2	62.9	59.4
Zimbabwe	61.2	62.6	59.5
Angola	60.8	63.7	58.1
Togo	60.8	61.6	59.9
Congo, Democratic Republic of the	60.4	61.9	58.9
Mozambique	60.2	63	57.1
Eswatini	59.4	64	55.3
Cameroon	58.9	60.2	57.7
Mali	58.9	59.6	58.1
Equatorial Guinea	58.4	59.6	57.4
Guinea-Bissau	58	59.9	56
South Sudan	57.6	59.1	56.1
Côte d’Ivoire	57.4	58.7	56.3
Nigeria	54.3	55.2	53.5
Sierra Leone	54.3	55.1	53.5
Chad	54	55.4	52.6
Lesotho	53.7	57	50.6
Central African Republic	52.8	55	50.6