Data / Rankings / Healthy life expectancy at birth / Countries

Countries by healthy life expectancy at birth

Japan had the highest healthy life expectancy at birth of 185 countries in 2013, at 72.7 years. Lesotho had the lowest, at 42.7 years. The median was 63.8 years. Source: World Health Organization.

Highest72.7Japan
Lowest42.7Lesotho
Median63.8185 countries

Top 40 countries, 2013

Japan: 72.7 yearsJapan72.7Singapore: 72.6 yearsSingapore72.6Spain: 71.2 yearsSpain71.2Iceland: 71 yearsIceland71South Korea: 70.9 yearsSouth Korea70.9Italy: 70.9 yearsItaly70.9Israel: 70.9 yearsIsrael70.9Cyprus: 70.8 yearsCyprus70.8Sweden: 70.7 yearsSweden70.7Luxembourg: 70.7 yearsLuxembourg70.7Switzerland: 70.6 yearsSwitzerland70.6Malta: 70.5 yearsMalta70.5Netherlands: 70.3 yearsNetherlands70.3Norway: 70.3 yearsNorway70.3France: 70.2 yearsFrance70.2Canada: 70.1 yearsCanada70.1Australia: 70.1 yearsAustralia70.1Kuwait: 69.9 yearsKuwait69.9Austria: 69.8 yearsAustria69.8Greece: 69.7 yearsGreece69.7Ireland: 69.5 yearsIreland69.5New Zealand: 69.4 yearsNew Zealand69.4Denmark: 69.4 yearsDenmark69.4Costa Rica: 69.4 yearsCosta Rica69.4United Kingdom: 69.3 yearsUnited Kingdom69.3Finland: 69.3 yearsFinland69.3Portugal: 69.3 yearsPortugal69.3Peru: 69.2 yearsPeru69.2Slovenia: 69.1 yearsSlovenia69.1United Arab Emirates: 69.1 yearsUnited Arab Emirates69.1Belgium: 69 yearsBelgium69Germany: 69 yearsGermany69Puerto Rico: 68.6 yearsPuerto Rico68.6Chile: 68.5 yearsChile68.5Cuba: 68.3 yearsCuba68.3Albania: 68.1 yearsAlbania68.1Croatia: 67.7 yearsCroatia67.7Czechia: 67.6 yearsCzechia67.6China: 67.4 yearsChina67.4Brunei: 67.3 yearsBrunei67.3
years. Source: World Health Organization, Healthy life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes (WHOSIS_000002). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Full ranking

RankCountries2013
years		Change on 2012
1Japan72.7+0.2
2Singapore72.6+0.1
3Spain71.2+0.3
4Iceland71+0.1
5South Korea70.9+0.4
6Italy70.9+0.3
7Israel70.9+0.3
8Cyprus70.8+0.2
9Sweden70.7+0.1
10Luxembourg70.7+0.3
11Switzerland70.6+0.1
12Malta70.5+0.2
13Netherlands70.3+0.1
14Norway70.3+0.2
15France70.2+0.2
16Canada70.10
17Australia70.1+0.2
18Kuwait69.9+0.3
19Austria69.8+0.2
20Greece69.7+0.5
21Ireland69.5+0.2
22New Zealand69.4+0.2
23Denmark69.4+0.2
24Costa Rica69.4+0.1
25United Kingdom69.30
26Finland69.3+0.3
27Portugal69.3+0.3
28Peru69.2+0.4
29Slovenia69.1+0.2
30United Arab Emirates69.1+0.2
31Belgium69+0.2
32Germany69-0.2
33Puerto Rico68.60
34Chile68.5+0.1
35Cuba68.3-0.1
36Albania68.1+0.4
37Croatia67.7+0.4
38Czechia67.6+0.1
39China67.4+0.3
40Brunei67.3-0.1
41Panama67.3+0.2
42Maldives67.3+0.4
43Colombia67.3+0.2
44Bosnia and Herzegovina67.1-0
45Estonia67+0.5
46Poland66.9+0.2
47Montenegro66.9+0.2
48Thailand66.8+0.3
49Jordan66.8+0.3
50Lebanon66.7+0.1
51Uruguay66.6+0.2
52Ecuador66.5+0.5
53Türkiye66.5-0
54United States66.5-0.1
55Slovakia66.5+0.3
56Barbados66.40
57Nicaragua66.4+0.2
58Saudi Arabia66.3+0.3
59Argentina66.20
60Tunisia66+0.1
61North Macedonia66+0.4
62Iran66+0.1
63Serbia65.9+0.3
64Sri Lanka65.9+0.2
65Hungary65.9+0.4
66Antigua and Barbuda65.90
67Qatar65.8+0.6
68Saint Lucia65.7-0.1
69Romania65.7+0.5
70Algeria65.6+0.1
71Malaysia65.6+0.1
72Mexico65.4+0.2
73Bulgaria65.4+0.4
74Armenia65.3+0.4
75Jamaica65.20
76Bahrain65.1+0.3
77Cape Verde65+0.2
78Venezuela64.9+0.1
79Paraguay64.8-0
80Latvia64.8+0.2
81Belize64.8+0.1
82El Salvador64.7-0.3
83Vietnam64.7+0.1
84Seychelles64.50
85Oman64.5+0.3
86Trinidad and Tobago64.3-0.2
87Lithuania64.2+0.1
88Mauritius64.1+0.1
89Libya64.1+0.2
90Georgia63.9+0.3
91Palestine63.9+0.9
92Azerbaijan63.8+0.7
93Dominican Republic63.8-0.3
94Bahamas63.7+0.1
95Tonga63.70
96Brazil63.6+0.1
97Belarus63.5+0.4
98Grenada63.3-0
99North Korea63.3+0.3
100Suriname63.3-0.1
101Tajikistan63.2+0.6
102Saint Vincent and the Grenadines63.1-0.3
103Bhutan63.1+0.2
104Morocco62.9+0.2
105Moldova62.8+0.9
106Bangladesh62.7+0.4
107Kyrgyzstan62.5+0.6
108Ukraine62.3+0.4
109Bolivia62.3+0.3
110Indonesia62.1+0.2
111Kazakhstan61.9+0.8
112Samoa61.7-0
113Egypt61.6+0.5
114Guatemala61.6-0.1
115Russia61.6+0.4
116São Tomé and Príncipe61.5+0.4
117Philippines61.2-0.1
118Iraq61-0.4
119Turkmenistan61-0.1
120Mauritania60.7+0.1
121Honduras60.6+0.3
122Uzbekistan60.5+0.6
123Nepal60.2+0.2
124Mongolia60.1+0.4
125Cambodia59.9+0.3
126Fiji59.7+0.1
127Timor-Leste59.1+0.1
128Vanuatu59+0.1
129Yemen58.9+0.4
130India58.8+0.3
131Myanmar58.7+0.5
132Sudan58.6+0.2
133Comoros58.6+0.3
134Laos58.5+0.4
135Senegal58+0.3
136Rwanda57.7+0.6
137Micronesia57.5+0.1
138Solomon Islands57.5+0.1
139Papua New Guinea57.5+0.3
140Ethiopia57.4+0.7
141Guyana57.2+0.1
142Syria56.3-0.3
143Pakistan56.2+0.2
144Tanzania56+0.8
145Ghana55.8+0.4
146Djibouti55.6+0.3
147Madagascar55.5+0.2
148Kenya55.4+0.5
149Gambia55.3+0.2
150Gabon54.9+0.5
151Uganda54.5+0.8
152Kiribati54.2+0.1
153Namibia54.1+0.3
154Benin54.1+0.3
155Burundi53.9+0.6
156Eritrea53.8+0.3
157Haiti53.5+0.3
158Republic of the Congo53.5+0.2
159South Africa53.3+1
160Togo53.2+0.4
161Malawi53.1+1
162Nigeria53+0.4
163Equatorial Guinea52.8+0.7
164Botswana52.6+0.7
165Burkina Faso52.6+0.5
166Angola52.3+0.7
167Liberia52.3+0.3
168Niger51.9+0.3
169Mali51.8+0.1
170Guinea51.8+0.2
171Côte d’Ivoire51.8+0.7
172Zambia51.7+0.6
173Afghanistan51.7+0.4
174South Sudan50.9-0.2
175Cameroon50.9+0.4
176Democratic Republic of the Congo50.9+0.5
177Guinea-Bissau49.9+0.4
178Sierra Leone49.7+0.6
179Chad49.6+0.4
180Zimbabwe49.3+1
181Mozambique47+0.5
182Somalia46.3+2
183Eswatini43.8+0.7
184Central African Republic42.9-0.4
185Lesotho42.7-0.1

Other periods

About this ranking

Average number of years a newborn can expect to live in full health (HALE), counting years lived with disease or injury as partly lost. Both sexes. WHO Global Health Estimates, calculated with Sullivan's method from life tables and the rate of years lived with disability.

Modelled WHO estimates, not a national survey measure, so they differ from Eurostat's healthy life years, which come from self-reported limitations. Values are served with every decimal WHO publishes. WHO revises these series, past years included, when new national reports or estimates come in, so values can change between retrievals.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the countries are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

World Health Organization, data.who.int. Healthy life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes (WHOSIS_000002) [Indicator]. https://data.who.int/indicators/i/48D9B0C/C64284D (Accessed on 2026-10-12). Licensed under CC BY 4.0. No changes made to source values. WHO does not endorse Invokely or this use of the data.

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Questions

Which country has the highest healthy life expectancy at birth?

Japan, with 72.7 years in 2013, according to World Health Organization.

Which country has the lowest healthy life expectancy at birth?

Lesotho, with 42.7 years in 2013.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: World Health Organization, Healthy life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes (WHOSIS_000002). Retrieved 2026-10-12.

Healthy life expectancy at birth: other rankings

Countries: more rankings