What is life expectancy in Tonga?

Life expectancy in Tonga was 72.89 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 Tonga?

The highest recorded value was 72.89 years in 2023.

What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Tonga?

The lowest recorded value was 48.38 years in 1950.

How does Tonga rank for life expectancy?

Tonga ranks 140th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.

Is life expectancy rising or falling in Tonga?

Over the last ten years it is up 1.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this Tonga 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 Tonga

Name: Life expectancy in Tonga
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)

Tonga: Life expectancy was 72.89 years in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)

72.89 years

Change on year

up 0.4%

World rank

140th

of 236 countries

All-time high

72.89 years

in 2023

All-time low

48.38 years

in 1950

Years of data

1950–2023

Life expectancy in Tonga, 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

Tonga recorded 72.89 years for life expectancy in 2023. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.

That represents a change of up 0.4% on the previous year and up 1.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, life expectancy in Tonga peaked at 72.89 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 48.38 years, in 1950.

Tonga ranks 140th of 236 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

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

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1950s	53.71 years	48.38 years	57.77 years	10
1960s	60.49 years	58.31 years	62.7 years	10
1970s	64.81 years	63.18 years	66.04 years	10
1980s	66.83 years	66.19 years	67.45 years	10
1990s	68.48 years	67.54 years	69.43 years	10
2000s	70.43 years	69.63 years	71.04 years	10
2010s	71.8 years	71.32 years	72.29 years	10
2020s	72.51 years	72.13 years	72.89 years	4

Countries ranked near Tonga

137 Ukraine 73.42 years compare
138 Russia 73.15 years compare
139 Bhutan 72.98 years compare
141 Honduras 72.88 years compare
142 Seychelles 72.86 years compare
143 American Samoa 72.85 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More health data for Tonga

Age population, age 22, female, interpolated 1,030 (2025)
Population ages 65 and above, female 7.5% (2025)
Population ages 65 and above, male 2,975 (2025)
Age population, age 19, male, interpolated 1,102 (2025)
Age population, age 20, female, interpolated 1,111 (2025)
Age population, age 20, male, interpolated 1,047 (2025)
Age population, age 21, female, interpolated 1,089 (2025)
Age population, age 21, male, interpolated 1,008 (2025)
Population ages 65 and above, male 6.1% (2025)
Age population, age 23, female, interpolated 951 (2025)

All data for Tonga →

Frequently asked questions

What is life expectancy in Tonga?: Life expectancy in Tonga was 72.89 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 Tonga?: The highest recorded value was 72.89 years in 2023.
What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Tonga?: The lowest recorded value was 48.38 years in 1950.
How does Tonga rank for life expectancy?: Tonga ranks 140th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is life expectancy rising or falling in Tonga?: Over the last ten years it is up 1.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Tonga 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.