What is life expectancy in South Sudan?

Life expectancy in South Sudan was 57.62 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 South Sudan?

The highest recorded value was 58.29 years in 2013.

What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in South Sudan?

The lowest recorded value was 10.99 years in 1988.

How does South Sudan rank for life expectancy?

South Sudan ranks 232nd out of 236 countries with data for 2023.

Is life expectancy rising or falling in South Sudan?

Over the last ten years it is down 1.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this South Sudan 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 South Sudan

Name: Life expectancy in South Sudan
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)

South Sudan: Life expectancy was 57.62 years in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)

57.62 years

Change on year

up 0.7%

World rank

232nd

of 236 countries

All-time high

58.29 years

in 2013

All-time low

10.99 years

in 1988

Years of data

1950–2023

Life expectancy in South Sudan, 1950–2023

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 South Sudan is 57.62 years, measured in 2023.

That represents a change of up 0.7% on the previous year and down 1.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, life expectancy in South Sudan peaked at 58.29 years in 2013 and was at its lowest, 10.99 years, in 1988.

That places South Sudan 232nd out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1950s	30.49 years	27.61 years	32.02 years	10
1960s	27.73 years	25.4 years	32.46 years	10
1970s	34.75 years	25.63 years	37.81 years	10
1980s	30.66 years	10.99 years	38.68 years	10
1990s	30.72 years	19.05 years	44.86 years	10
2000s	52.81 years	47.59 years	56.85 years	10
2010s	49.92 years	35.35 years	58.29 years	10
2020s	57.38 years	57.05 years	57.65 years	4

Countries ranked near South Sudan

229 Guinea 60.74 years compare
230 Mali 60.44 years compare
231 Somalia 58.82 years compare
233 Central African Republic 57.41 years compare
234 Lesotho 57.37 years compare
235 Chad 55.07 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More health data for South Sudan

Age population, age 22, female, interpolated 129,629 (2025)
Age population, age 18, male, interpolated 152,100 (2025)
Age population, age 19, female, interpolated 145,442 (2025)
Age population, age 19, male, interpolated 147,324 (2025)
Age population, age 20, female, interpolated 140,825 (2025)
Age population, age 20, male, interpolated 142,452 (2025)
Age population, age 09, male, interpolated 145,630 (2025)
Age population, age 21, female, interpolated 135,644 (2025)
Age population, age 21, male, interpolated 136,997 (2025)
Age population, age 23, female, interpolated 122,190 (2025)

All data for South Sudan →

Frequently asked questions

What is life expectancy in South Sudan?: Life expectancy in South Sudan was 57.62 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 South Sudan?: The highest recorded value was 58.29 years in 2013.
What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in South Sudan?: The lowest recorded value was 10.99 years in 1988.
How does South Sudan rank for life expectancy?: South Sudan ranks 232nd out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is life expectancy rising or falling in South Sudan?: Over the last ten years it is down 1.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this South Sudan 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 — 74 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.