What is life expectancy in Papua New Guinea?

Life expectancy in Papua New Guinea was 66.13 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 Papua New Guinea?

The highest recorded value was 66.13 years in 2023.

What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Papua New Guinea?

The lowest recorded value was 31.5 years in 1946.

How does Papua New Guinea rank for life expectancy?

Papua New Guinea ranks 202nd out of 236 countries with data for 2023.

Is life expectancy rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?

Over the last ten years it is up 3.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this Papua New Guinea 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 Papua New Guinea

Name: Life expectancy in Papua New Guinea
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)

Papua New Guinea: Life expectancy was 66.13 years in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)

66.13 years

Change on year

up 1.3%

World rank

202nd

of 236 countries

All-time high

66.13 years

in 2023

All-time low

31.5 years

in 1946

Years of data

1946–2023

Life expectancy in Papua New Guinea, 1946–2023

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 Papua New Guinea stood at 66.13 years. That is the highest value across all 75 years on record.

The figure is up 1.3% on the previous year and up 3.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, life expectancy in Papua New Guinea peaked at 66.13 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 31.5 years, in 1946.

That places Papua New Guinea 202nd out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 75 years of available data.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1940s	31.5 years	31.5 years	31.5 years	1
1950s	41.83 years	35.48 years	45.14 years	10
1960s	48.61 years	45.8 years	51.52 years	10
1970s	54.63 years	52.14 years	56.97 years	10
1980s	58.61 years	57.39 years	59.6 years	10
1990s	60.64 years	59.78 years	61.51 years	10
2000s	61.98 years	61.61 years	62.77 years	10
2010s	64.27 years	63.06 years	65.33 years	10
2020s	65.21 years	64.36 years	66.13 years	4

Countries ranked near Papua New Guinea

199 Zambia 66.35 years compare
200 Sudan 66.33 years compare
201 South Africa 66.14 years compare
203 Afghanistan 66.03 years compare
204 Djibouti 65.99 years compare
205 Gambia 65.86 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More health data for Papua New Guinea

Age population, age 12, male, interpolated 118,438 (2025)
Age population, age 15, female, interpolated 104,162 (2025)
Age population, age 14, male, interpolated 115,982 (2025)
Age population, age 14, female, interpolated 106,106 (2025)
Age population, age 13, male, interpolated 117,252 (2025)
Age population, age 13, female, interpolated 107,598 (2025)
Age population, age 12, female, interpolated 109,018 (2025)
Age population, age 11, female, interpolated 110,482 (2025)
Age population, age 11, male, interpolated 119,674 (2025)
Age population, age 15, male, interpolated 114,219 (2025)

All data for Papua New Guinea →

Frequently asked questions

What is life expectancy in Papua New Guinea?: Life expectancy in Papua New Guinea was 66.13 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 Papua New Guinea?: The highest recorded value was 66.13 years in 2023.
What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Papua New Guinea?: The lowest recorded value was 31.5 years in 1946.
How does Papua New Guinea rank for life expectancy?: Papua New Guinea ranks 202nd out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is life expectancy rising or falling in Papua New Guinea?: Over the last ten years it is up 3.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Papua New Guinea 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 — 75 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.