The answer to the issue of which nation has the longest life expectancy may be split down into various elements.
This page describes how these data are produced in order to provide reliable information on life lengths in the countries with the greatest longevity.
Which country has the longest life expectancy?
According to the United Nations Population Division, Hong Kong now has the greatest lifespan rate, but let’s take a closer look at the other nations at the top of that list.
The nations with the greatest lifespan estimates follow trends that mostly focus on the East. Japan ranks second in the world in terms of life expectancy, after only Hong Kong, Macao, and Singapore.
This is attributable to the availability of healthcare, the lack of certain illnesses, and crucial nutritional characteristics.
When determining which nation has the longest life expectancy, statistics are not the only aspect to consider.
The variables that contribute to these figures and may exaggerate them in some locations should also be examined for a thorough assessment of longevity in certain areas.
This article analyses those criteria and interprets the rankings to have a better knowledge of what causes certain nations to live longer lives than others.
Contents
- Longevity by Country: An Overview
- Interpreting the Numbers
- Factors that Change Longevity
- What Country has the Lowest Life Expectancy?
- The Takeaway – Understanding Longevity Factors
- FAQs
- Where does US rank in longevity?
- Which ethnicity lives the longest?
- Which US state has the best longevity?
- Why do the Japanese live so long?
- Why is the US life expectancy so low?
- Do Europeans live longer than Americans?
- What is the lowest life expectancy in the US?
- What are the odds of living to 90?
- Which ethnicity does not age?
Longevity by Country: An Overview
Data gathered by various groups might have varying outcomes.
The CIA, for example, displays a somewhat different nation rating than the United Nations Population Division (UNPD).
The CIA data compares life expectancy at birth, which is the average number of years a person may expect to live in a particular nation provided death rates at each age stay constant.
These parameters produced the following findings for the nations with the longest life expectancy:
| Rank | Country | Years | Date of information |
| 1 | Monaco | 89.4 | 2017 est |
| 2 | Japan | 85.3 | 2017 est |
| 3 | Singapore | 85.2 | 2017 est |
| 4 | MACAU | 84.6 | 2017 est |
| 5 | San Marino | 83.3 | 2017 est |
| 6 | Iceland | 83.1 | 2017 est |
| 7 | Hong Kong | 83.0 | 2017 est |
We didn’t include Monaco in the initial response to this topic since it isn’t included in many data tables compiled by other organizations.
Monaco, a European microstate of barely 19,000 inhabitants, does not carry the same weight in these assessments as larger nations.
Hong Kong also ranks higher on statistics lists, such as this research on life expectancy on Infoplease, which Logan Chamberlain examined under census bureau requirements.
| Rank | Country | Average | Women | Men |
| 1 | Hong Kong | 84.7 | 87.6 | 81.8 |
| 2 | Japan | 84.5 | 87.5 | 81.3 |
| 3 | Switzerland | 83.6 | 85.5 | 81.7 |
| 4 | Singapore | 83.7 | 85.7 | 81.4 |
When the list was revised in early 2020, Hong Kong moved up a few spots, based on data from the UN Human Development Report for 2019.
Conflicting findings, census criteria, and the year the information was acquired by multiple bureaus may making definite answers difficult.
Yet, it is clear that Japan, Hong Kong, and Singapore score well in the main databases, with only their positions varying among bureaus.
These figures offer a quick response to the issue of which nations have the longest life expectancy.
So why do individuals in these nations live such long lives?
What factors influence the statistics differently in various countries?
Continue reading for a more in-depth look at global longevity.
Interpreting the Numbers
The first thing to understand is what life expectancy entails.
You may recall studying mean, median, and mode in school; this information is useful here.
The mean is the average number of years that persons born in a certain nation may expect to live.
This is what is often referred to as a country’s average life span or life expectancy.
The median age of death would be the age at which 50% of the population dies, which would be a larger figure.
The mode would be different as well, since it is the average numerical age at which most persons died.
What is the distinction?
The proportion of infant and neonatal fatalities has a significant impact on the result in terms of the mean.
By examining the average of the total lifetime rather than the frequency of fatalities at certain ages, the deaths of infants drastically alter a country’s genuine life expectancy.
It is critical to understand how the data was acquired since a variation in perception of what constitutes life expectancy might vary the findings.
But keep in mind that the deaths of young children are what lowers the mean or average life expectancy score.
Yet, since many more infants die at birth than individuals reach the age of 100, infant mortality is a far higher role in lifespan than adults who live the longest.
Factors that Change Longevity
A few important elements impact lifespan.
We believe the following are relevant:
- Infant mortality rate
- Healthcare accessibility
- Gender
- Geography
Each element has a varied influence on lifespan, with some having a more direct impact and others having a more abstract impact. This is how we think each one affects the final figures.
1. Infant Mortality
As previously stated, infant mortality alters data computed in a certain manner (with the mean, or average).
They have a greater influence on the final figure than cases of individuals living a long time since they are relatively uncommon and closer to the average life expectancy.
In other words, in a society where the average life expectancy is 80 years, every infant who dies reduces the ultimate life expectancy by 80 years, whereas everyone who lives to reach a hundred merely balances it by 20 years.
This implies that any statistics on life expectancy significantly favors nations with excellent hospitals, drug availability, and other facilities that make childbirth simpler and less lethal on a national scale.
This is possibly the most significant effect of socioeconomic status on national life expectancy.
Deaths at the age of 0 have a significant impact on the final average, indicating that nations with less income typically have less access to the facilities, knowledge, staff, and medication that make birth easier in more developed countries in the twenty-first century.
2. Healthcare Availability
The availability of healthcare systems, trained medical practitioners, and vital pharmaceuticals such as insulin may all have a significant impact on a country’s lifespan.
Not only will it lower infant mortality, but older generations will be more active and disease-free, which will have a significant influence on their capacity to emotionally and physically deal with old age.
3. Gender
Males have a shorter overall life expectancy than females. This does not alter in better socioeconomic level countries: there is always a 5 to 7-year disparity.
The causes are unknown, however certain tendencies do appear when compared to other research.
Harvard Health conducted a research and discovered a few tendencies. Males tended to take more risks in their occupations and the way they drove automobiles.
They were less sociable and more likely to commit suicide.
According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, males shun physicians more vehemently than women on average.
4. Geography
The unfortunate reality is that some countries just have geography working against them. This might be due to their socioeconomic situation, which contributes to their reduced longevity. It may also be implied in the terrain itself.
Rough topography, for example, or extreme weather (including freezing winters and hot summers) might have an impact on lifespan.
Elderly persons may be less likely to survive weather-related illnesses or be less mobility owing to topography.
A nation’s location plays a present but practically indefinable influence in lifespan by slowing growth or making living comfortably more difficult for its populace.
What Country has the Lowest Life Expectancy?
According to the UN Human Development Report for 2019, the following nations have the lowest lifespan for the causes indicated, as well as others:
| Rank | Country | Average | Women | Men |
| 178 | South Sudan | 57.6 | 59.1 | 56.1 |
| 179 | Cote D’ivore | 57.4 | 58.7 | 56.3 |
| 180 | Nigeria | 54.3 | 55.2 | 53.5 |
| 181 | Sierra Leone | 54.3 | 55.1 | 53.5 |
| 182 | Chad | 54.0 | 55.4 | 52.6 |
| 183 | Lesotho | 53.7 | 57.0 | 50.6 |
| 184 | Central African Republic | 52.8 | 55.0 | 50.6 |
According to other statistics, Africa has virtually all of the nations with the lowest lifespan rates in the world.
The Takeaway – Understanding Longevity Factors
Knowing the variables that influence national lifespan is just as essential as understanding the statistics.
We broke down some of the major reasons to both long and short lifespan to give you a better understanding of how life expectancy is calculated and how it varies depending on a country’s position, income, and technology.
Before you go, why not read some of my other posts in the longevity section?
FAQs
Where does US rank in longevity?
Male and female life expectancy
A male kid born in the United States today will live an average of 74.5 years. This places male citizens of the United States at 47th position in this list. Women in the United States are 5.7 years older on average, reaching the age of 80.2.
Which ethnicity lives the longest?
Alaska Natives have the smallest stature (65.2 years). A person in the United States may expect to live for an average of 76.1 years. Asians have the highest average life expectancy (83.5 years), followed by American Indians.
Which US state has the best longevity?
With an average life expectancy of 80.7 years, Hawaii ranked first.
Why do the Japanese live so long?
Life expectancy in Japan
Its low death rate is mostly due to a low obesity rate, a low diet of red meat, and a high consumption of fish and plant foods like as soybeans and tea. Obesity is uncommon in Japan (4.8% for males and 3.7% for women).
Why is the US life expectancy so low?
Why is life expectancy in the United States declining? According to the 2022 study, COVID-19, drug overdoses, and unintentional injuries accounted for over two-thirds of the drop in life expectancy. Additional causes included heart and liver disorders, as well as suicides.
Do Europeans live longer than Americans?
The study discovered that men and women in the United States lived 2.2 years less than their counterparts in other nations. American men and women may only expect to live for 76.4 and 81.2 years, respectively, compared to 78.6 and 83.4 years for their international counterparts.
What is the lowest life expectancy in the US?
Overall, life expectancy at birth in Hawaii, Washington, California, and New York (state) is among the highest in the US, while it is among the lowest in Mississippi, American Samoa, and West Virginia.
What are the odds of living to 90?
At the conclusion of the research, around 16% of males and 34% of women had reached the age of 90. In fact, the scientists discovered that women who were taller than 5 feet 9 inches were 31% more likely to reach 90 than those who were less than 5 feet 3 inches.
Which ethnicity does not age?
Unlike other races, black skin has a thicker structure and is more resistant to environmental factors, thus it does not exhibit symptoms of aging until later in life.
