What is life expectancy in Switzerland?

Life expectancy in Switzerland was 83.95 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 Switzerland?

The highest recorded value was 83.95 years in 2023.

What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Switzerland?

The lowest recorded value was 39.99 years in 1877.

How does Switzerland rank for life expectancy?

Switzerland ranks 9th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.

Is life expectancy rising or falling in Switzerland?

Over the last ten years it is up 1.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this Switzerland 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 Switzerland

Name: Life expectancy in Switzerland
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)

Switzerland: Life expectancy was 83.95 years in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)

83.95 years

Change on year

up 0.9%

World rank

9th

of 236 countries

All-time high

83.95 years

in 2023

All-time low

39.99 years

in 1877

Years of data

148

1876–2023

Life expectancy in Switzerland, 1876–2023

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 Switzerland is 83.95 years, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 148 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.9% on the previous year and up 1.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, life expectancy in Switzerland peaked at 83.95 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 39.99 years, in 1877.

That places Switzerland 9th out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 148 years of available data.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1870s	40.64 years	39.99 years	41.83 years	4
1880s	44.28 years	41.94 years	46 years	10
1890s	47.14 years	44.81 years	49.31 years	10
1900s	50.19 years	47.59 years	52.29 years	10
1910s	53.78 years	46.3 years	56.52 years	10
1920s	59.14 years	54.5 years	60.59 years	10
1930s	62.56 years	61.2 years	63.98 years	10
1940s	65.77 years	63.54 years	67.95 years	10
1950s	70.02 years	68.69 years	71.45 years	10
1960s	72.09 years	71.29 years	72.74 years	10
1970s	74.46 years	73.12 years	75.61 years	10
1980s	76.67 years	75.59 years	77.56 years	10
1990s	78.58 years	77.39 years	79.72 years	10
2000s	81.06 years	79.83 years	81.99 years	10
2010s	83.03 years	82.29 years	83.78 years	10
2020s	83.47 years	83.06 years	83.95 years	4

Countries ranked near Switzerland

6 Saint Barthelemy 84.29 years compare
7 French Polynesia 84.07 years compare
8 Andorra 84.04 years compare
10 Australia 83.92 years compare
11 Singapore 83.74 years compare
12 Italy 83.72 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More health data for Switzerland

Age population, age 14, male, interpolated 46,062 (2025)
Population, male 4.52 million (2025)
Age population, age 16, male, interpolated 45,938 (2025)
Age population, age 16, female, interpolated 43,340 (2025)
Age population, age 15, male, interpolated 46,040 (2025)
Age population, age 15, female, interpolated 43,926 (2025)
Age population, age 13, female, interpolated 43,583 (2025)
Age population, age 12, female, interpolated 43,622 (2025)
Age population, age 12, male, interpolated 46,322 (2025)
Age population, age 17, female, interpolated 43,135 (2025)

All data for Switzerland →

Frequently asked questions

What is life expectancy in Switzerland?: Life expectancy in Switzerland was 83.95 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 Switzerland?: The highest recorded value was 83.95 years in 2023.
What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Switzerland?: The lowest recorded value was 39.99 years in 1877.
How does Switzerland rank for life expectancy?: Switzerland ranks 9th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is life expectancy rising or falling in Switzerland?: Over the last ten years it is up 1.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Switzerland 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 — 148 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.