What is life expectancy in Denmark?

Life expectancy in Denmark was 81.93 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 Denmark?

The highest recorded value was 81.93 years in 2023.

What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Denmark?

The lowest recorded value was 33 years in 1775.

How does Denmark rank for life expectancy?

Denmark ranks 39th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.

Is life expectancy rising or falling in Denmark?

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

Where does this Denmark 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 Denmark

Name: Life expectancy in Denmark
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)

Denmark: Life expectancy was 81.93 years in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)

81.93 years

Change on year

up 0.8%

World rank

39th

of 236 countries

All-time high

81.93 years

in 2023

All-time low

33 years

in 1775

Years of data

190

1775–2023

Life expectancy in Denmark, 1775–2023

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

Analysis

The most recent figure for life expectancy in Denmark is 81.93 years, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 190 years on record.

That represents a change of up 0.8% on the previous year and up 2.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, life expectancy in Denmark peaked at 81.93 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 33 years, in 1775.

Denmark ranks 39th of 236 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 190 years of available data.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1770s	33 years	33 years	33 years	1
1830s	41.01 years	38.42 years	43.14 years	5
1840s	41.9 years	39.57 years	44.08 years	10
1850s	43.42 years	38.57 years	46.76 years	10
1860s	44.74 years	39.8 years	47.62 years	10
1870s	46.46 years	44.48 years	47.57 years	10
1880s	47.86 years	44.79 years	49.62 years	10
1890s	49.73 years	46.78 years	53.11 years	10
1900s	54.9 years	51.9 years	57.36 years	10
1910s	57.6 years	56.22 years	58.88 years	10
1920s	61.08 years	57.71 years	61.96 years	10
1930s	63.55 years	61.87 years	65.8 years	10
1940s	67.52 years	65.95 years	70.12 years	10
1950s	71.47 years	70.31 years	72.24 years	10
1960s	72.61 years	72.2 years	73.24 years	10
1970s	73.9 years	73.36 years	74.66 years	10
1980s	74.56 years	74.13 years	74.86 years	10
1990s	75.6 years	74.87 years	76.58 years	10
2000s	77.85 years	76.82 years	78.96 years	10
2010s	80.52 years	79.25 years	81.43 years	10
2020s	81.55 years	81.29 years	81.93 years	4

Countries ranked near Denmark

36 New Zealand 82.09 years compare
37 Guadeloupe 82.05 years compare
38 Austria 81.96 years compare
40 Finland 81.91 years compare
41 Greece 81.86 years compare
42 Puerto Rico 81.69 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More health data for Denmark

Age population, age 16, female, interpolated 33,712 (2025)
Age population, age 18, female, interpolated 34,884 (2025)
Age population, age 17, male, interpolated 36,253 (2025)
Age population, age 17, female, interpolated 34,387 (2025)
Age population, age 16, male, interpolated 35,746 (2025)
Population, male 2.99 million (2025)
Age population, age 15, female, interpolated 33,195 (2025)
Population ages 15-64, female 62.3% (2025)
Age population, age 08, male, interpolated 32,967 (2025)
Population, male 49.7% (2025)

All data for Denmark →

Frequently asked questions

What is life expectancy in Denmark?: Life expectancy in Denmark was 81.93 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 Denmark?: The highest recorded value was 81.93 years in 2023.
What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Denmark?: The lowest recorded value was 33 years in 1775.
How does Denmark rank for life expectancy?: Denmark ranks 39th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is life expectancy rising or falling in Denmark?: Over the last ten years it is up 2.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Denmark 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 — 190 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.