Life expectancy at age 15 in South Africa

South Africa: Life expectancy at age 15 was 77.76 years in 2100. ▲ Rising

Latest (2100)
77.76 years
Change on year
up 0.2%
World rank
207th
of 236 countries
All-time high
77.76 years
in 2100
All-time low
58.5 years
in 1950
Years of data
151
1950–2100

Life expectancy at age 15 in South Africa, 1950–2100

020406080195020252100

Source: Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.

Analysis

In 2100, life expectancy at age 15 in South Africa stood at 77.76 years. That is the highest value across all 151 years on record.

That represents a change of up 0.2% on the previous year and up 1.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, life expectancy at age 15 in South Africa peaked at 77.76 years in 2100 and was at its lowest, 58.5 years, in 1950.

South Africa ranks 207th of 236 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 151 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 60.76 years 58.5 years 62.94 years 10
1960s 64.24 years 63.33 years 64.87 years 10
1970s 65.87 years 64.97 years 66.88 years 10
1980s 67.75 years 67.09 years 68.05 years 10
1990s 66.33 years 64.1 years 67.82 years 10
2000s 60.47 years 59.1 years 63.15 years 10
2010s 66.33 years 62.77 years 68.9 years 10
2020s 68.39 years 64.65 years 69.36 years 10
2030s 70.02 years 69.49 years 70.55 years 10
2040s 71.14 years 70.65 years 71.62 years 10
2050s 72.22 years 71.73 years 72.71 years 10
2060s 73.34 years 72.83 years 73.85 years 10
2070s 74.52 years 73.98 years 75.08 years 10
2080s 75.76 years 75.19 years 76.32 years 10
2090s 77.04 years 76.45 years 77.63 years 10
2100s 77.76 years 77.76 years 77.76 years 1

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 204 Fiji 78.15 years compare
  2. 205 Tuvalu 78.04 years compare
  3. 206 Gambia 77.85 years compare
  4. 208 Marshall Islands 76.89 years compare
  5. 209 Equatorial Guinea 76.89 years compare
  6. 210 Angola 76.61 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More health data for South Africa

All data for South Africa →

Frequently asked questions

What is life expectancy at age 15 in South Africa?
Life expectancy at age 15 in South Africa was 77.76 years in 2100, according to Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest life expectancy at age 15 recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 77.76 years in 2100.
What is the lowest life expectancy at age 15 recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 58.5 years in 1950.
How does South Africa rank for life expectancy at age 15?
South Africa ranks 207th out of 236 countries with data for 2100.
Is life expectancy at age 15 rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is up 1.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this South Africa data come from?
The figures come from Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy at age 15. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 151 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Life expectancy at age 15
Unit
years
Source
Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
236 places, 36,894 data points, 1751–2100
Last refreshed

The total period life expectancy at age 15, in a given year.