What is life expectancy in China?

Life expectancy in China was 77.95 years in 2023, according to Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.

What is the highest life expectancy recorded in China?

The highest recorded value was 78.2 years in 2022.

What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in China?

The lowest recorded value was 32 years in 1930.

How does China rank for life expectancy?

China ranks 76th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.

Is life expectancy rising or falling in China?

Over the last ten years it is up 2.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this China data come from?

The figures come from Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Life expectancy in China

Name: Life expectancy in China
Creator: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

China: Life expectancy was 77.95 years in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)

77.95 years

Change on year

down 0.3%

World rank

76th

of 236 countries

All-time high

78.2 years

in 2022

All-time low

32 years

in 1930

Years of data

1930–2023

Life expectancy in China, 1930–2023

Source: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.

Analysis

China recorded 77.95 years for life expectancy in 2023.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.3% on the previous year and up 2.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, life expectancy in China peaked at 78.2 years in 2022 and was at its lowest, 32 years, in 1930.

China ranks 76th of 236 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 79 years of available data.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1930s	33.67 years	32 years	35 years	3
1940s	39 years	37 years	41 years	2
1950s	45.88 years	40.17 years	48.83 years	10
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	68.15 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	78.07 years	77.95 years	78.2 years	4

Countries ranked near China

73 Uruguay 78.14 years compare
74 Cuba 78.09 years compare
75 Turks and Caicos Islands 78.01 years compare
77 Bosnia and Herzegovina 77.85 years compare
78 Lebanon 77.82 years compare
79 Jordan 77.81 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More health data for China

Population, female 49.1% (2025)
Age population, age 12, male, interpolated 9.92 million (2025)
Age population, age 12, female, interpolated 8.55 million (2025)
Population, male 50.9% (2025)
Age population, age 11, male, interpolated 9.79 million (2025)
Age population, age 11, female, interpolated 8.47 million (2025)
Population, male 716.05 million (2025)
Age population, age 09, male, interpolated 9.45 million (2025)
Age population, age 08, male, interpolated 9.62 million (2025)
Age population, age 09, female, interpolated 8.24 million (2025)

All data for China →

Frequently asked questions

What is life expectancy in China?: Life expectancy in China was 77.95 years in 2023, according to Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest life expectancy recorded in China?: The highest recorded value was 78.2 years in 2022.
What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in China?: The lowest recorded value was 32 years in 1930.
How does China rank for life expectancy?: China ranks 76th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is life expectancy rising or falling in China?: Over the last ten years it is up 2.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this China data come from?: The figures come from Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 79 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator: Life expectancy
Unit: years
Source: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 236 places, 19,452 data points, 1543–2023
Last refreshed: 06 August 2026

Period life expectancy is the number of years the average person born in a certain year would live if they experienced the same chances of dying at each age as people did that year.