Life expectancy at birth, total in China
China: Life expectancy at birth, total was 78.02 years in 2024. ▲ Rising
Life expectancy at birth, total in China, 1960–2024
Source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for life expectancy at birth, total in China is 78.02 years, measured in 2024.
The figure is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 1.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy at birth, total in China peaked at 78.2 years in 2022 and was at its lowest, 33.42 years, in 1960.
China ranks 68th of 215 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 65 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 50.08 years | 33.42 years | 55.99 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 60.43 years | 56.82 years | 63.7 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 66.24 years | 64.24 years | 67.93 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 70.11 years | 68.16 years | 71.95 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 73.85 years | 72.29 years | 75.32 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 76.8 years | 75.67 years | 77.94 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 78.06 years | 77.95 years | 78.2 years | 5 |
Countries ranked near China
More health data for China
- Age population, age 08, male, interpolated 9.62 million (2025)
- Age population, age 11, male, interpolated 9.79 million (2025)
- Age population, age 11, female, interpolated 8.47 million (2025)
- Age population, age 10, male, interpolated 9.57 million (2025)
- Age population, age 09, male, interpolated 9.45 million (2025)
- Age population, age 09, female, interpolated 8.24 million (2025)
- Age population, age 07, female, interpolated 7.79 million (2025)
- Age population, age 06, female, interpolated 6.93 million (2025)
- Age population, age 06, male, interpolated 7.89 million (2025)
- Age population, age 12, female, interpolated 8.55 million (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy at birth, total in China?
- Life expectancy at birth, total in China was 78.02 years in 2024, according to World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest life expectancy at birth, total recorded in China?
- The highest recorded value was 78.2 years in 2022.
- What is the lowest life expectancy at birth, total recorded in China?
- The lowest recorded value was 33.42 years in 1960.
- How does China rank for life expectancy at birth, total?
- China ranks 68th out of 215 countries with data for 2024.
- Is life expectancy at birth, total rising or falling in China?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this China data come from?
- The figures come from World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Life expectancy at birth, total (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Life expectancy at birth indicates the number of years a newborn infant would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the same throughout its life.