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Data, Africa by the numbers

Life expectancy in Africa by country

How long a child born today can expect to live in each of the 54 African countries, with ten years of history, women and men, child deaths and what each country spends on health.

What life expectancy means

Life expectancy at birth is the number of years a newborn would live if the death rates of the year they were born stayed the same for their whole life. It is a summary of health in a country that year, not a forecast for any one person.

A low figure is pulled down most by deaths in early childhood. That is why we show deaths of children under five next to it.

Life expectancy at a glance, 2024

Highest: Tunisia
76.7 years
Lowest: Nigeria
54.6 years
Middle country of 54
65.8 years
Middle country, change since 2014
4.0 years

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (UN Population Division, World Population Prospects). Last checked 24 October 2026.

Tunisia leads Africa on life expectancyLife expectancy at birth, years, 2024. The ten highest.

View the data as a table

Item	Value
Tunisia	76.7
Algeria	76.5
Seychelles	76.3
Cabo Verde	76.2
Morocco	75.5
Mauritius	73.8
Egypt	71.8
Libya	71.1
São Tomé and Príncipe	69.9
Botswana	69.3

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (UN Population Division, World Population Prospects). Last checked 24 October 2026.

54 of 54 countries have a figure for 2024.

The ten lowest life expectancies in AfricaLife expectancy at birth, years, 2024.

View the data as a table

Item	Value
Burkina Faso	61.3
Benin	61.0
Guinea	60.9
Mali	60.7
Somalia	59.0
Lesotho	57.8
South Sudan	57.7
Central African Republic	57.7
Chad	55.2
Nigeria	54.6

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (UN Population Division, World Population Prospects). Last checked 24 October 2026.

Life expectancy over ten years, the five highest countriesLife expectancy at birth, years.

View the data as a table

Period	Tunisia	Algeria	Seychelles	Cabo Verde	Morocco
2014	74.8	75.0	73.2	73.8	72.5
2015	74.9	75.2	74.3	74.1	72.9
2016	75.0	75.3	74.3	74.4	73.2
2017	75.2	75.4	74.3	74.7	73.6
2018	75.4	75.6	72.8	74.8	73.9
2019	75.6	75.7	74.0	75.4	74.2
2020	75.0	73.3	77.2	73.8	73.1
2021	72.9	75.2	73.4	74.4	73.4
2022	76.1	76.1	74.5	75.9	75.2
2023	76.5	76.3	75.4	76.1	75.3
2024	76.7	76.5	76.3	76.2	75.5

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (UN Population Division, World Population Prospects). Last checked 24 October 2026.

Biggest gains in life expectancy since 2014Life expectancy at birth, years.

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Item	2014	2024	Change
Central African Republic	40.3	57.7	+17.4
South Sudan	45.6	57.7	+12.1
Eswatini	53.5	64.3	+10.8
Namibia	59.3	67.5	+8.2
Sierra Leone	54.3	62.0	+7.7
Botswana	62.2	69.3	+7.1
Lesotho	50.8	57.8	+7.0
Zambia	60.1	66.5	+6.4
Malawi	61.7	67.6	+5.9
Mozambique	58.0	63.8	+5.8

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (UN Population Division, World Population Prospects). Last checked 24 October 2026.

Women outlive men in every African countryLife expectancy at birth, years, 2024. The ten widest gaps.

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Item	Men	Women	Change
Seychelles	72.1	80.7	+8.6
Namibia	63.5	71.5	+8.0
São Tomé and Príncipe	66.4	73.9	+7.5
Mauritius	70.4	77.4	+7.0
South Africa	62.8	69.8	+7.0
Ethiopia	64.4	71.0	+6.6
Malawi	64.3	70.8	+6.5
Sudan	63.4	69.8	+6.4
Cabo Verde	73.1	79.4	+6.3
Mozambique	60.5	66.7	+6.2

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (UN Population Division, World Population Prospects). Last checked 24 October 2026.

Countries that spend more on health tend to live longer, with big exceptionsHealth spending per person in US dollars (2023) against life expectancy (2024).

View the data as a table

Item	Health spending per person, US$	Life expectancy, years
Algeria	233	76.5
Angola	76	64.8
Benin	47	61.0
Botswana	490	69.3
Burkina Faso	72	61.3
Burundi	28	63.8
Cabo Verde	290	76.2
Cameroon	79	64.0
Central African Republic	54	57.7
Chad	47	55.2
Comoros	102	67.0
Congo	76	66.0
Democratic Republic of the Congo	23	62.1
Côte d'Ivoire	88	62.1
Djibouti	78	66.2
Egypt	141	71.8
Equatorial Guinea	234	63.9
Eritrea	28	68.9
Eswatini	296	64.3
Ethiopia	35	67.6
Gabon	253	68.5
Gambia	26	66.1
Ghana	70	65.7
Guinea	59	60.9
Guinea-Bissau	82	64.3
Kenya	85	63.8
Lesotho	123	57.8
Liberia	104	62.3
Libya	470	71.1
Madagascar	17	63.8
Malawi	41	67.6
Mali	34	60.7
Mauritania	92	68.7
Mauritius	616	73.8
Morocco	232	75.5
Mozambique	53	63.8
Namibia	397	67.5
Niger	26	61.4
Nigeria	67	54.6
Rwanda	53	68.0
São Tomé and Príncipe	171	69.9
Senegal	73	68.9
Seychelles	766	76.3
Sierra Leone	36	62.0
Somalia	22	59.0
South Africa	537	66.3
South Sudan	73	57.7
Sudan	21	66.5
Tanzania	36	67.2
Togo	60	62.9
Tunisia	318	76.7
Uganda	45	68.5
Zambia	80	66.5
Zimbabwe	63	63.1

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (WHO Global Health Expenditure Database); World Bank, World Development Indicators (UN Population Division, World Population Prospects). Last checked 24 October 2026.

Life expectancy in Africa by country, all 54Click a heading to sort. Search by name or filter by region.

Showing 54 of 54

Rank
2	Algeria	Northern Africa	76.5	77.9	75.1	1.5	22	233
29	Angola	Middle Africa	64.8	67.3	62.3	4.4	49	76
46	Benin	Western Africa	61.0	62.4	59.5	2.0	75	47
10	Botswana	Southern Africa	69.3	71.9	66.8	7.1	33	490
45	Burkina Faso	Western Africa	61.3	63.4	59.1	3.0	75	72
34	Burundi	Eastern Africa	63.8	65.9	61.8	4.1	47	28
4	Cabo Verde	Western Africa	76.2	79.4	73.1	2.4	11	290
32	Cameroon	Middle Africa	64.0	66.2	61.8	4.8	65	79
51	Central African Republic	Middle Africa	57.7	59.6	55.5	17.4	90	54
53	Chad	Middle Africa	55.2	57.2	53.4	4.1	97	47
21	Comoros	Eastern Africa	67.0	69.2	65.0	2.9	39	102
27	Congo	Middle Africa	66.0	67.7	64.3	2.7	39	76
41	Democratic Republic of the Congo	Middle Africa	62.1	64.2	60.0	3.8	90	23
42	Côte d'Ivoire	Western Africa	62.1	64.3	60.2	4.3	65	88
25	Djibouti	Eastern Africa	66.2	68.7	63.7	3.8	49	78
7	Egypt	Northern Africa	71.8	74.0	69.7	1.9	22	141
33	Equatorial Guinea	Middle Africa	63.9	65.9	62.2	3.7	68	234
11	Eritrea	Eastern Africa	68.9	70.9	66.8	3.4	34	28
30	Eswatini	Southern Africa	64.3	67.1	61.3	10.8	45	296
17	Ethiopia	Eastern Africa	67.6	71.0	64.4	4.7	45	35
14	Gabon	Middle Africa	68.5	71.2	66.1	2.4	33	253
26	Gambia	Western Africa	66.1	67.8	64.4	3.5	42	26
28	Ghana	Western Africa	65.7	68.2	63.3	2.9	36	70
47	Guinea	Western Africa	60.9	62.1	59.7	3.3	92	59
31	Guinea-Bissau	Western Africa	64.3	66.5	61.8	4.8	67	82
35	Kenya	Eastern Africa	63.8	66.1	61.6	1.8	39	85
50	Lesotho	Southern Africa	57.8	60.4	55.0	7.0	60	123
40	Liberia	Western Africa	62.3	63.6	61.0	3.1	86	104
8	Libya	Northern Africa	71.1	72.7	69.6	-0.2	10	470
36	Madagascar	Eastern Africa	63.8	65.6	62.1	0.6	62	17
18	Malawi	Eastern Africa	67.6	70.8	64.3	5.9	49	41
48	Mali	Western Africa	60.7	62.2	59.3	3.2	73	34
13	Mauritania	Western Africa	68.7	70.7	66.7	2.5	37	92
6	Mauritius	Eastern Africa	73.8	77.4	70.4	-0.4	15	616
5	Morocco	Northern Africa	75.5	77.8	73.3	3.0	16	232
37	Mozambique	Eastern Africa	63.8	66.7	60.5	5.8	59	53
19	Namibia	Southern Africa	67.5	71.5	63.5	8.2	40	397
44	Niger	Western Africa	61.4	62.4	60.5	2.7	111	26
54	Nigeria	Western Africa	54.6	54.9	54.3	2.7	116	67
16	Rwanda	Eastern Africa	68.0	70.1	65.7	2.9	38	53
9	São Tomé and Príncipe	Middle Africa	69.9	73.9	66.4	4.4	14	171
12	Senegal	Western Africa	68.9	71.0	67.0	2.9	37	73
3	Seychelles	Eastern Africa	76.3	80.7	72.1	3.1	14	766
43	Sierra Leone	Western Africa	62.0	63.7	60.2	7.7	91	36
49	Somalia	Eastern Africa	59.0	61.6	56.5	4.5	101	22
24	South Africa	Southern Africa	66.3	69.8	62.8	3.1	35	537
52	South Sudan	Eastern Africa	57.7	60.7	54.8	12.1	97	73
22	Sudan	Northern Africa	66.5	69.8	63.4	2.5	62	21
20	Tanzania	Eastern Africa	67.2	70.0	64.4	3.8	37	36
39	Togo	Western Africa	62.9	63.2	62.7	4.2	56	60
1	Tunisia	Northern Africa	76.7	79.3	74.1	1.9	12	318
15	Uganda	Eastern Africa	68.5	71.4	65.5	5.4	49	45
23	Zambia	Eastern Africa	66.5	68.9	64.1	6.4	48	80
38	Zimbabwe	Eastern Africa	63.1	65.3	60.5	5.0	65	63

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (UN Population Division, World Population Prospects); World Bank, World Development Indicators (UN Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation); World Bank, World Development Indicators (WHO Global Health Expenditure Database). Last checked 24 October 2026.

Download the data as CSV

How to read this ranking

Every figure comes from the World Bank's World Development Indicators. Life expectancy and child deaths are UN estimates, built from censuses, surveys and death registration. Where registration is weak, the UN models the figure, so small differences between countries are not meaningful.
Health spending per person is in current US dollars and comes a year behind the other figures. A currency that loses value against the dollar lowers the figure even when spending at home did not fall.
Read the gap between countries, not only the rank. Many countries sit within a year of each other.

Method and sources

We rank countries on life expectancy at birth for 2024, the latest year the World Bank publishes, and show the ten years before it. We do not fill gaps. We checked the figures at the source on 24 October 2026.

World Bank life expectancy data, child mortality, health spending. Download all the figures as CSV.

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Frequently asked questions

What is the average life expectancy in Africa?

The middle country of the 54 is shown in the answer at the top of this page, together with the highest and the lowest. We use the middle country rather than a population-weighted average so each country counts once.

Why is life expectancy lower in some African countries?

Mostly because of deaths in early childhood, from causes such as malaria, pneumonia, diarrhoea and complications at birth. Countries with high child death rates almost always have low life expectancy, as the table shows.

Do women live longer than men in Africa?

Yes, in every one of the 54 countries. The chart on women and men shows the gap for the ten countries where it is widest.

Where do the numbers come from?

From the World Bank's World Development Indicators, which publish the UN Population Division's estimates of life expectancy, the UN's child mortality estimates and the WHO's health spending figures. The date we checked them is under every chart.

Can I use these figures?

Yes. Please link to this page and name the World Bank and the original UN or WHO source when you use a figure.