Statizoid

Life expectancy in United Kingdom

United Kingdom: Life expectancy was 81.3 years in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
81.3 years
Change on year
up 0.3%
World rank
46th
of 236 countries
All-time high
81.44 years
in 2019
All-time low
22.38 years
in 1558
Years of data
242
1543–2023

Life expectancy in United Kingdom, 1543–2023

20406080154317832023

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

Analysis

United Kingdom recorded 81.3 years for life expectancy in 2023.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 0.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, life expectancy in United Kingdom peaked at 81.44 years in 2019 and was at its lowest, 22.38 years, in 1558.

That places United Kingdom 46th out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 242 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1540s 36.38 years 33.94 years 38.82 years 2
1550s 30.98 years 22.38 years 39.59 years 2
1560s 38.16 years 36.66 years 39.67 years 2
1570s 41.31 years 41.06 years 41.56 years 2
1580s 39.88 years 37.05 years 42.7 years 2
1590s 37.94 years 37.82 years 38.05 years 2
1600s 39.06 years 38.53 years 39.59 years 2
1610s 38.55 years 36.79 years 40.31 years 2
1620s 36.54 years 33.39 years 39.69 years 2
1630s 36.88 years 34.03 years 39.72 years 2
1640s 38.03 years 36.32 years 39.74 years 2
1650s 36.09 years 33.04 years 39.14 years 2
1660s 32.88 years 32.48 years 33.27 years 2
1670s 34.91 years 32.4 years 37.41 years 2
1680s 33.6 years 31.27 years 35.93 years 2
1690s 37.2 years 36.35 years 38.06 years 2
1700s 38.48 years 38.47 years 38.5 years 2
1710s 36.32 years 35.75 years 36.89 years 2
1720s 30.41 years 25.34 years 35.49 years 2
1730s 35.8 years 35.26 years 36.34 years 2
1740s 35.37 years 34.27 years 36.47 years 2
1750s 38.95 years 38.12 years 39.77 years 2
1760s 35.78 years 35.37 years 36.19 years 2
1770s 38.42 years 37.74 years 39.09 years 2
1780s 37.39 years 35.81 years 38.97 years 2
1790s 38.42 years 37.92 years 38.93 years 2
1800s 40.3 years 40.02 years 40.58 years 2
1810s 41.05 years 40.84 years 41.25 years 2
1820s 40.95 years 40.47 years 41.43 years 2
1830s 40.73 years 40.56 years 40.89 years 2
1840s 40.27 years 37.68 years 42.17 years 8
1850s 40.77 years 39.48 years 42.77 years 10
1860s 41.05 years 39.59 years 42.13 years 10
1870s 42.32 years 40.6 years 43.69 years 10
1880s 44.61 years 42.98 years 46.28 years 10
1890s 45.74 years 44.12 years 48.27 years 10
1900s 49.14 years 45.62 years 51.67 years 10
1910s 52.65 years 47.27 years 54.31 years 10
1920s 58.42 years 57.02 years 59.91 years 10
1930s 61.55 years 60 years 63.61 years 10
1940s 64.99 years 60.9 years 68.37 years 10
1950s 69.9 years 68.24 years 70.83 years 10
1960s 71.33 years 70.76 years 72.07 years 10
1970s 72.53 years 71.88 years 73.16 years 10
1980s 74.56 years 73.59 years 75.4 years 10
1990s 76.61 years 75.74 years 77.37 years 10
2000s 78.92 years 77.85 years 80.16 years 10
2010s 80.98 years 80.39 years 81.44 years 10
2020s 80.87 years 80.39 years 81.3 years 4

Countries ranked near United Kingdom

  1. 43 Cyprus 81.65 years compare
  2. 44 Slovenia 81.6 years compare
  3. 45 Germany 81.38 years compare
  4. 47 Bahrain 81.28 years compare
  5. 48 Chile 81.17 years compare
  6. 49 Maldives 81.04 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More health data for United Kingdom

All data for United Kingdom →

Frequently asked questions

What is life expectancy in United Kingdom?
Life expectancy in United Kingdom was 81.3 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 United Kingdom?
The highest recorded value was 81.44 years in 2019.
What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in United Kingdom?
The lowest recorded value was 22.38 years in 1558.
How does United Kingdom rank for life expectancy?
United Kingdom ranks 46th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is life expectancy rising or falling in United Kingdom?
Over the last ten years it is up 0.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this United Kingdom 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 — 242 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

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.