Life expectancy at birth, total in United States
United States: Life expectancy at birth, total was 78.89 years in 2024. ▲ Rising
Life expectancy at birth, total in United States, 1960–2024
Source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in years.
Analysis
United States recorded 78.89 years for life expectancy at birth, total in 2024. That is the highest value across all 65 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.6% on the previous year and up 0.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy at birth, total in United States peaked at 78.89 years in 2024 and was at its lowest, 69.77 years, in 1960.
United States ranks 60th 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 | 70.17 years | 69.77 years | 70.56 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 72.23 years | 70.81 years | 73.8 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 74.47 years | 73.61 years | 75.02 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 75.85 years | 75.21 years | 76.58 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 77.45 years | 76.64 years | 78.39 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 78.67 years | 78.54 years | 78.84 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 77.6 years | 76.33 years | 78.89 years | 5 |
Countries ranked near United States
More health data for United States
- Age dependency ratio 55.0% (2025)
- Population, male 50.2% (2025)
- Population, male 171.74 million (2025)
- Age population, age 13, female, interpolated 2.05 million (2025)
- Age population, age 12, male, interpolated 2.16 million (2025)
- Population, female 49.8% (2025)
- Age dependency ratio, young 26.5% (2025)
- Age population, age 10, male, interpolated 2.15 million (2025)
- Population, female 170.05 million (2025)
- Age population, age 10, female, interpolated 2.03 million (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy at birth, total in United States?
- Life expectancy at birth, total in United States was 78.89 years in 2024, according to World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest life expectancy at birth, total recorded in United States?
- The highest recorded value was 78.89 years in 2024.
- What is the lowest life expectancy at birth, total recorded in United States?
- The lowest recorded value was 69.77 years in 1960.
- How does United States rank for life expectancy at birth, total?
- United States ranks 60th out of 215 countries with data for 2024.
- Is life expectancy at birth, total rising or falling in United States?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this United States 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.
Download this data
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.