What is life expectancy in Japan?

Life expectancy in Japan was 84.71 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 Japan?

The highest recorded value was 84.71 years in 2023.

What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Japan?

The lowest recorded value was 30.54 years in 1945.

How does Japan rank for life expectancy?

Japan ranks 4th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.

Is life expectancy rising or falling in Japan?

Over the last ten years it is up 1.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this Japan 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 Japan

Name: Life expectancy in Japan
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)

Japan: Life expectancy was 84.71 years in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)

84.71 years

Change on year

up 0.8%

World rank

4th

of 236 countries

All-time high

84.71 years

in 2023

All-time low

30.54 years

in 1945

Years of data

1865–2023

Life expectancy in Japan, 1865–2023

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

Analysis

In 2023, life expectancy in Japan stood at 84.71 years. That is the highest value across all 93 years on record.

That represents a change of up 0.8% on the previous year and up 1.6% over ten years.

Over the whole period, life expectancy in Japan peaked at 84.71 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 30.54 years, in 1945.

That places Japan 4th out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 93 years of available data.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1860s	36.43 years	36.43 years	36.43 years	1
1870s	36.7 years	36.59 years	36.8 years	2
1880s	37.18 years	37.04 years	37.33 years	2
1890s	37.89 years	37.68 years	38.1 years	2
1900s	38.91 years	38.6 years	39.22 years	2
1910s	40.44 years	39.97 years	40.9 years	2
1920s	43.44 years	42.04 years	45.66 years	3
1930s	48.24 years	48.24 years	48.24 years	1
1940s	49.2 years	30.54 years	57.72 years	4
1950s	64.23 years	59.25 years	67.46 years	10
1960s	70.1 years	67.72 years	71.92 years	10
1970s	74.16 years	72.01 years	76.17 years	10
1980s	77.66 years	76.14 years	78.98 years	10
1990s	79.87 years	78.99 years	80.65 years	10
2000s	82.1 years	81.18 years	82.97 years	10
2010s	83.66 years	82.67 years	84.42 years	10
2020s	84.5 years	84.05 years	84.71 years	4

Countries ranked near Japan

1 Monaco 86.37 years compare
2 San Marino 85.71 years compare
3 Hong Kong 85.51 years compare
5 South Korea 84.33 years compare
6 Saint Barthelemy 84.29 years compare
7 French Polynesia 84.07 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More health data for Japan

Age population, age 08, female, interpolated 470,918 (2025)
Age population, age 16, male, interpolated 573,409 (2025)
Age population, age 16, female, interpolated 542,965 (2025)
Age population, age 15, male, interpolated 564,701 (2025)
Age population, age 07, female, interpolated 454,963 (2025)
Age population, age 07, male, interpolated 478,438 (2025)
Age population, age 15, female, interpolated 533,538 (2025)
Age population, age 14, female, interpolated 526,359 (2025)
Age population, age 14, male, interpolated 557,669 (2025)
Age population, age 06, male, interpolated 458,050 (2025)

All data for Japan →

Frequently asked questions

What is life expectancy in Japan?: Life expectancy in Japan was 84.71 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 Japan?: The highest recorded value was 84.71 years in 2023.
What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Japan?: The lowest recorded value was 30.54 years in 1945.
How does Japan rank for life expectancy?: Japan ranks 4th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is life expectancy rising or falling in Japan?: Over the last ten years it is up 1.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Japan 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 — 93 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.