AmericaUnited States / Health & wellbeing
U.S. Life Expectancy: History & Data.
What does national life expectancy actually measure?
The historical record
Source snapshot2024
Latest observation in this snapshot—not a real-time reading. +0.5 years vs 2023.
Fitted vertical axis · missing periods are not interpolated · annual
What the number means
Expected lifespan at birth if the year’s mortality patterns persisted.
Life expectancy at birth summarizes the mortality patterns of a period. It is not the expected age of death for a particular person. National gains can coexist with serious gaps between places and groups.
A period estimate, not a prediction for an individual. National averages conceal large gaps.
A better question to ask
When discussing a health initiative, ask for the affected population, a credible evaluation, and outcomes beyond the national average.
This is a prompt for investigation, not evidence that a particular policy works. A trend alone cannot establish a cause.
Read the related practical guide ↗Exact observations
25 available observations since 2000. Annual and quarterly dates represent the start of the reporting period; fiscal years are labeled explicitly. Display values are rounded to the precision shown; downloads retain the source values.
Open the complete data table
| Reporting period | Period start | Value |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 2024-01-01 | 78.9 |
| 2023 | 2023-01-01 | 78.4 |
| 2022 | 2022-01-01 | 77.4 |
| 2021 | 2021-01-01 | 76.3 |
| 2020 | 2020-01-01 | 77.0 |
| 2019 | 2019-01-01 | 78.8 |
| 2018 | 2018-01-01 | 78.6 |
| 2017 | 2017-01-01 | 78.5 |
| 2016 | 2016-01-01 | 78.5 |
| 2015 | 2015-01-01 | 78.7 |
| 2014 | 2014-01-01 | 78.8 |
| 2013 | 2013-01-01 | 78.7 |
| 2012 | 2012-01-01 | 78.7 |
| 2011 | 2011-01-01 | 78.6 |
| 2010 | 2010-01-01 | 78.5 |
| 2009 | 2009-01-01 | 78.4 |
| 2008 | 2008-01-01 | 78.0 |
| 2007 | 2007-01-01 | 78.0 |
| 2006 | 2006-01-01 | 77.7 |
| 2005 | 2005-01-01 | 77.5 |
| 2004 | 2004-01-01 | 77.5 |
| 2003 | 2003-01-01 | 77.0 |
| 2002 | 2002-01-01 | 76.9 |
| 2001 | 2001-01-01 | 76.8 |
| 2000 | 2000-01-01 | 76.6 |
Follow this series home
- Series identifier
- SP.DYN.LE00.IN
- Provider
- World Bank / original statistical sources
- Original source attribution
- World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), uri: UN Population Division; Statistical databases and publications from national statistical offices, National Statistical Offices (NSOs), note: Derived from male and female life expectancy at birth from sources such as statistical databases and publications from national statistical offices.; Demographic Statistics, Eurostat (ESTAT), note: Derived from male and female life expectancy at birth from sources such as Eurostat: Demographic Statistics.
- Frequency
- Annual
- Source units
- years
- Displayed units
- years
- Retrieval time
- 2026-10-04T09:04:46.416Z
- Provider database update
- 2026-07-13 — not the observation date
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