The 15 Countries Where People Live the Longest
Ranked by life expectancy at birth, from the UN's latest estimates for all 193 UN member states. Tiny European states lead, and Japan is the top large country.
Quick Answer
Monaco has the highest life expectancy at birth of any UN member state, 86.37 years in 2023, according to the UN's World Population Prospects 2024. San Marino (85.71) and Japan (84.71) are next. Japan has the highest life expectancy of any country with more than 1 million people. The world average is 73.17 years.
Life expectancy at birth is the number of years a newborn would live on average if death rates at each age stayed as they are now. This ranking covers all 193 UN member states, using the UN's estimates for 2023, the latest year of measured estimates in World Population Prospects 2024. The UN also publishes figures for territories such as Hong Kong and Macao; they are not countries, so they are left out of the ranking (Hong Kong is noted below).
A 32-year gap between first and last
A baby born in Monaco can expect to live 86.37 years; in Nigeria, last of the 193 UN member states, 54.46 years, a gap of about 32 years. Women outlive men in every one of the 193 UN member states: worldwide, women's life expectancy is 75.89 years and men's 70.55. The largest gap between women and men is in Ukraine, at 13.3 years.
Life expectancy at birth, both sexes, 2023 · Years
Source: UN DESA, World Population Prospects 2024Tap any country to jump to its full breakdown below.
Ranked #15 to #1
15Sweden83.26 years
- Life expectancy at birth (2023):
- 83.26 years
- Category:
- Europe
Sweden rounds out the top 15 at 83.26 years.
Sweden's gap between women and men, 3.66 years, is smaller than the world gap of 5.34 years.
Source: UN World Population Prospects 2024
14Malta83.30 years
- Life expectancy at birth (2023):
- 83.30 years
- Category:
- Europe
Malta's life expectancy is 83.30 years.
Malta is just 0.01 years behind Norway.
Source: UN World Population Prospects 2024
13Norway83.31 years
- Life expectancy at birth (2023):
- 83.31 years
- Category:
- Europe
Norway's life expectancy is 83.31 years.
Norwegian men live longer than men in France, Spain or Italy.
Source: UN World Population Prospects 2024
12France83.33 years
- Life expectancy at birth (2023):
- 83.33 years
- Category:
- Europe
France's life expectancy is 83.33 years.
French women live 5.66 years longer than French men, one of the bigger gaps in this top 15.
Source: UN World Population Prospects 2024
11Liechtenstein83.63 years
- Life expectancy at birth (2023):
- 83.63 years
- Category:
- Europe
Liechtenstein, a microstate between Switzerland and Austria, reaches 83.63 years.
It is one of four European microstates in the top 15, with Monaco, San Marino and Andorra.
Source: UN World Population Prospects 2024
10Spain83.67 years
- Life expectancy at birth (2023):
- 83.67 years
- Category:
- Europe
Spain's life expectancy is 83.67 years.
Spanish women, at 86.31 years, outlive women in every country ranked below Spain here.
Source: UN World Population Prospects 2024
9Italy83.72 years
- Life expectancy at birth (2023):
- 83.72 years
- Category:
- Europe
Italy's life expectancy is 83.72 years.
Italy is just 0.02 years behind Singapore.
Source: UN World Population Prospects 2024
8Singapore83.74 years
- Life expectancy at birth (2023):
- 83.74 years
- Category:
- Asia
Singapore's life expectancy is 83.74 years.
Singapore is one of three Asian countries in the top 8, with Japan and South Korea.
Source: UN World Population Prospects 2024
7Australia83.92 years
- Life expectancy at birth (2023):
- 83.92 years
- Category:
- Oceania
Australia's life expectancy is 83.92 years, the highest outside Europe and Asia.
Australian men live 82.10 years on average, longer than men in Japan (81.69) or South Korea (81.19).
Source: UN World Population Prospects 2024
6Switzerland83.95 years
- Life expectancy at birth (2023):
- 83.95 years
- Category:
- Europe
Switzerland's life expectancy is 83.95 years.
Switzerland has the highest life expectancy of any European country with more than 1 million people.
Source: UN World Population Prospects 2024
5Andorra84.04 years
- Life expectancy at birth (2023):
- 84.04 years
- Category:
- Europe
Andorra, a microstate in the Pyrenees, reaches 84.04 years.
Andorra is the third European microstate in the top 5.
Source: UN World Population Prospects 2024
4South Korea84.33 years
- Life expectancy at birth (2023):
- 84.33 years
- Category:
- Asia
South Korea's life expectancy is 84.33 years.
South Korean women, at 87.16 years, are among the longest-living women in the world.
Source: UN World Population Prospects 2024
Japan
Women 87.74 · Men 81.69- Life expectancy at birth (2023):
- 84.71 years
- Category:
- Asia
Japan's life expectancy is 84.71 years, the highest of any country with more than 1 million people.
Japanese women live 87.74 years on average, the second-longest of any UN member state after Monaco.
Source: UN World Population Prospects 2024
San Marino
Women 87.10 · Men 84.21- Life expectancy at birth (2023):
- 85.71 years
- Category:
- Europe
San Marino, a microstate surrounded by Italy, has a life expectancy of 85.71 years.
Its gap between women and men, 2.89 years, is the smallest in this top 15.
Source: UN World Population Prospects 2024
Monaco
Women 88.50 · Men 84.45- Life expectancy at birth (2023):
- 86.37 years
- Category:
- Europe
Monaco has the highest life expectancy of any UN member state, 86.37 years.
Monaco's men, at 84.45 years, live longer than women in 172 of the 193 UN member states.
Source: UN World Population Prospects 2024
What the numbers tell us
Canada ranks 18th (82.63 years), the United Kingdom 34th (81.30), the United States 44th (79.30), China 52nd (77.95) and India 113th (72.00). Hong Kong, a territory rather than a country, has 85.51 years and would rank 3rd. The UN projects the world average will reach 73.77 years in 2026.
- Data period:
- 2023 estimates (the latest estimate year), with 2026 medium-variant projections where noted
- Last updated:
- November 4, 2026
- Sources:
- United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division, World Population Prospects 2024 (released July 11, 2024), file WPP2024_Demographic_Indicators_Medium. Licensed under Creative Commons CC BY 3.0 IGO.
- Source links:
The 193 UN member states are ranked by life expectancy at birth for both sexes in 2023, the latest year of estimates in World Population Prospects 2024; later years are projections. Values are shown rounded to two decimal places from the UN's published figures. Territories and other areas that are not UN member states, such as Hong Kong, Macao and French Polynesia, are excluded from the ranking. Several leaders are very small states, such as Monaco and San Marino, whose estimates rest on small populations and are less certain than those for large countries. Women's and men's figures are the UN's 2023 estimates for each sex.
Figures marked as estimates are based on publicly available information and may vary from other published sources.
Frequently Asked Questions
Monaco, at 86.37 years in 2023, according to the UN's World Population Prospects 2024. Among countries with more than 1 million people, Japan has the highest, at 84.71 years.