One of the best measures of the health of a nation’s population is average life expectancy at birth. The United States’ life expectancy of 78.7 remains high compared to most of the world. However, due largely to rising drug overdose and suicide deaths, average life expectancy has decreased for three consecutive years.
Every country has its own struggles that can lower life expectancy — whether it is pollution, war, or unhealthy behaviors. Since 1870, life expectancies have continually climbed worldwide. Many nations, by implementing a combination of better sanitation, health care, and safety, have increased their life expectancies to more than 80 years.
24/7 Wall St. reviewed World Bank data on life expectancy at birth to determine the 50 countries where people live the longest.
There are many factors that correlate with longer life expectancy. One of the most notable is wealth. Wealthy developed nations are generally more able to provide health care to their residents, and wealthier individuals tend to lead relatively healthier lifestyles. Nearly all of the richest countries in the world also rank among the places where people live longest.
According to World Bank data, women have noticeably higher life expectancies than men in every country for which data is available. They tend to outlive men by a worldwide average of more than four years.
To identify the countries where people live the longest, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed the most recent life-expectancy at birth data collected by the World Bank’s “World Development Indicators” database. GDP and GDP per capita were obtained from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and all other data points were obtained from the World Bank. Only countries with data from 2016, the most recent year available, were considered. Territories such as Puerto Rico and Curacao, and other nations that were not fully independent were not considered.
50. Oman
> Life expectancy at birth: 77.0 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 11.1%
> Health expenditure per capita: $1,636
> Population: 4,636,262
> GDP per capita: $37,961
49. Montenegro
> Life expectancy at birth: 77.1 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 45.9%
> Health expenditure per capita: $957
> Population: 622,471
> GDP per capita: $16,465
48. Mexico
> Life expectancy at birth: 77.1 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 14.0%
> Health expenditure per capita: $1,009
> Population: 129,163,276
> GDP per capita: $17,331
47. Brunei Darussalam
> Life expectancy at birth: 77.2 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 16.9%
> Health expenditure per capita: $2,083
> Population: 428,697
> GDP per capita: $71,809
46. United Arab Emirates
> Life expectancy at birth: 77.3 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 28.9%
> Health expenditure per capita: $2,426
> Population: 9,400,145
> GDP per capita: $67,293
45. Maldives
> Life expectancy at birth: 77.3 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 28.3%
> Health expenditure per capita: $1,514
> Population: 436,330
> GDP per capita: $15,169
44. Poland
> Life expectancy at birth: 77.5 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 28.0%
> Health expenditure per capita: $1,704
> Population: 37,975,841
> GDP per capita: $27,343
43. Uruguay
> Life expectancy at birth: 77.5 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 16.8%
> Health expenditure per capita: $1,748
> Population: 3,456,750
> GDP per capita: $20,551
42. Estonia
> Life expectancy at birth: 77.7 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 31.3%
> Health expenditure per capita: $1,887
> Population: 1,315,480
> GDP per capita: $29,481
41. Panama
> Life expectancy at birth: 78.0 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 6.1%
> Health expenditure per capita: $1,543
> Population: 4,098,587
> GDP per capita: $22,288
40. Croatia
> Life expectancy at birth: 78.0 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 37.0%
> Health expenditure per capita: $1,656
> Population: 4,125,700
> GDP per capita: $22,828
39. Qatar
> Life expectancy at birth: 78.2 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 20.6%
> Health expenditure per capita: $3,900
> Population: 2,639,211
> GDP per capita: $116,932
38. Czech Republic
> Life expectancy at birth: 78.3 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 34.3%
> Health expenditure per capita: $2,470
> Population: 10,591,323
> GDP per capita: $32,606
37. Albania
> Life expectancy at birth: 78.3 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 28.7%
> Health expenditure per capita: $774
> Population: 2,873,457
> GDP per capita: $11,802
36. United States
> Life expectancy at birth: 78.7 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 21.8%
> Health expenditure per capita: $9,536
> Population: 325,719,178
> GDP per capita: $54,225
35. Chile
> Life expectancy at birth: 79.5 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 37.8%
> Health expenditure per capita: $1,903
> Population: 18,054,726
> GDP per capita: $22,767
34. Lebanon
> Life expectancy at birth: 79.6 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 33.8%
> Health expenditure per capita: $1,117
> Population: 6,082,357
> GDP per capita: $13,191
33. Cuba
> Life expectancy at birth: 79.7 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 35.2%
> Health expenditure per capita: $00
> Population: 11,484,636
> GDP per capita: $00
32. Costa Rica
> Life expectancy at birth: 79.8 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 11.9%
> Health expenditure per capita: $1,286
> Population: 4,905,769
> GDP per capita: $15,552
31. Cyprus
> Life expectancy at birth: 80.5 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 36.4%
> Health expenditure per capita: $2,137
> Population: 1,179,551
> GDP per capita: $32,415
30. Germany
> Life expectancy at birth: 80.6 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 30.6%
> Health expenditure per capita: $5,357
> Population: 82,695,000
> GDP per capita: $45,229
29. Denmark
> Life expectancy at birth: 80.7 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 19.1%
> Health expenditure per capita: $5,083
> Population: 5,769,603
> GDP per capita: $46,683
28. Slovenia
> Life expectancy at birth: 80.8 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 22.5%
> Health expenditure per capita: $2,734
> Population: 2,066,748
> GDP per capita: $31,401
27. Austria
> Life expectancy at birth: 80.9 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 29.6%
> Health expenditure per capita: $5,138
> Population: 8,809,212
> GDP per capita: $45,437
26. United Kingdom
> Life expectancy at birth: 81.0 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 22.3%
> Health expenditure per capita: $4,145
> Population: 66,022,273
> GDP per capita: $39,753
25. Belgium
> Life expectancy at birth: 81.0 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 28.2%
> Health expenditure per capita: $4,782
> Population: 11,372,068
> GDP per capita: $42,659
24. Greece
> Life expectancy at birth: 81.0 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 43.4%
> Health expenditure per capita: $2,204
> Population: 10,760,421
> GDP per capita: $24,574
23. Portugal
> Life expectancy at birth: 81.1 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 22.7%
> Health expenditure per capita: $2,661
> Population: 10,293,718
> GDP per capita: $27,937
22. Netherlands
> Life expectancy at birth: 81.5 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 25.8%
> Health expenditure per capita: $5,313
> Population: 17,132,854
> GDP per capita: $48,473
21. Ireland
> Life expectancy at birth: 81.6 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 24.3%
> Health expenditure per capita: $5,335
> Population: 4,813,608
> GDP per capita: $67,335
20. New Zealand
> Life expectancy at birth: 81.6 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 16.0%
> Health expenditure per capita: $3,530
> Population: 4,793,900
> GDP per capita: $36,086
19. Finland
> Life expectancy at birth: 81.8 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 20.4%
> Health expenditure per capita: $3,996
> Population: 5,511,303
> GDP per capita: $40,586
18. Malta
> Life expectancy at birth: 81.8 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 25.5%
> Health expenditure per capita: $3,471
> Population: 465,292
> GDP per capita: $36,505
17. Korea, Rep.
> Life expectancy at birth: 82.0 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 23.3%
> Health expenditure per capita: $2,556
> Population: 51,466,201
> GDP per capita: $35,938
16. Sweden
> Life expectancy at birth: 82.2 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 18.8%
> Health expenditure per capita: $5,299
> Population: 10,067,744
> GDP per capita: $46,949
15. France
> Life expectancy at birth: 82.3 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 32.7%
> Health expenditure per capita: $4,542
> Population: 67,118,648
> GDP per capita: $38,606
14. Luxembourg
> Life expectancy at birth: 82.3 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 23.5%
> Health expenditure per capita: $6,382
> Population: 599,449
> GDP per capita: $94,278
13. Canada
> Life expectancy at birth: 82.3 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 14.3%
> Health expenditure per capita: $4,600
> Population: 36,708,083
> GDP per capita: $44,018
12. Israel
> Life expectancy at birth: 82.4 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 25.2%
> Health expenditure per capita: $2,819
> Population: 8,712,400
> GDP per capita: $33,132
11. Iceland
> Life expectancy at birth: 82.5 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 14.7%
> Health expenditure per capita: $4,116
> Population: 341,284
> GDP per capita: $46,483
10. Australia
> Life expectancy at birth: 82.5 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 14.7%
> Health expenditure per capita: $4,492
> Population: 24,598,933
> GDP per capita: $44,649
9. Norway
> Life expectancy at birth: 82.5 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 20.2%
> Health expenditure per capita: $6,222
> Population: 5,282,223
> GDP per capita: $64,800
8. Italy
> Life expectancy at birth: 82.5 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 23.7%
> Health expenditure per capita: $3,351
> Population: 60,551,416
> GDP per capita: $35,220
7. Liechtenstein
> Life expectancy at birth: 82.7 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 0.0%
> Health expenditure per capita: $00
> Population: 37,922
> GDP per capita: $00
6. Singapore
> Life expectancy at birth: 82.8 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 16.5%
> Health expenditure per capita: $3,681
> Population: 5,612,253
> GDP per capita: $85,535
5. Spain
> Life expectancy at birth: 82.8 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 29.3%
> Health expenditure per capita: $3,183
> Population: 46,572,028
> GDP per capita: $34,272
4. Switzerland
> Life expectancy at birth: 82.9 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 25.7%
> Health expenditure per capita: $7,583
> Population: 8,466,017
> GDP per capita: $57,410
3. Macao (SAR of China)
> Life expectancy at birth: 83.8 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 0.0%
> Health expenditure per capita: $00
> Population: 622,567
> GDP per capita: $104,862
2. Japan
> Life expectancy at birth: 84.0 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 22.1%
> Health expenditure per capita: $4,405
> Population: 126,785,797
> GDP per capita: $39,002
1. Hong Kong (SAR of China)
> Life expectancy at birth: 84.2 years
> Smoking rate (15+): 0.0%
> Health expenditure per capita: $00
> Population: 7,391,700
> GDP per capita: $56,055