Australia's life expectancy at birth, total (years) was 83.05 in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 0.91% from 82.3 in 2014 (0.09% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 83.05 | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 82.9 | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | 82.3 | 2014 |
| Highest | 83.3 | 2021 |
| Lowest | 70.82 | 1960 |
| Average since 2015 | 82.88 | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 70.82 | 1960 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, Australia's life expectancy at birth, total (years) did not change 0 on 2023 (from 83.05 to 83.05).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.17 and a typical year strayed about 0.14 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.2 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.5 in 1993 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.15 in 2023. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.09 a year. A straight line explains 72% of the movement over 10 observed years.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2024, Australia had the 22nd highest value of the 217 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Australia | 83.05 | 2024 |
| World | 73.48 | 2024 |
| East Asia & Pacific | 76.74 | 2024 |
| High income | 80.39 | 2024 |
Closest to Australia in the 2024 ranking
- Norway — 19th of 217: 83.16
- Faroe Islands — 20th of 217: 83.08
- United Arab Emirates — 21st of 217: 83.07
- Ireland — 23rd of 217: 83.01
- France — 24th of 217: 82.98
- Malta — 25th of 217: 82.96
What this measures
Life expectancy at birth indicates the number of years a newborn infant would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the same throughout its life.
Limitations: Annual data series from United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects are interpolated data from 5-year period data. Therefore they may not reflect real events as much as observed data.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 65 values
| Year | Life expectancy at birth, total (years) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 83.05 |
| 2023 | 83.05 |
| 2022 | 83.2 |
| 2021 | 83.3 |
| 2020 | 83.2 |
| 2019 | 82.9 |
| 2018 | 82.75 |
| 2017 | 82.5 |
| 2016 | 82.45 |
| 2015 | 82.4 |
| 2014 |
Life expectancy at birth, total (years) in nearby economies
- American Samoa — 72.99 (2024)
- Brunei Darussalam — 75.5 (2024)
- Cambodia — 70.82 (2024)
- China — 78.02 (2024)
- Fiji — 67.46 (2024)
- French Polynesia — 84.19 (2024)
- Guam — 77.42 (2024)
- Hong Kong SAR, China — 85.39 (2024)
- Indonesia — 71.29 (2024)
- Japan — 84.04 (2024)
- Kiribati
More health data for Australia
- Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 5.55% (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 5.94% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female — 2.37 million (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 17.07% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male — 2.51 million (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 18.3% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, total — 4.88 million (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 17.68% (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 5.63% (2025)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Australia's life expectancy at birth, total (years)?
- 83.05 in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1960?
- It is up 17.28% from 70.82 in 1960 (0.25% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 83.3 in 2021 and the lowest 70.82 in 1960.
- How does Australia rank?
- 22nd highest of 217 economies with data for 2024.
- Is the latest change in life expectancy at birth, total (years) unusual for Australia?
- In 2024, Australia's life expectancy at birth, total (years) did not change 0 on 2023 (from 83.05 to 83.05). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.17 and a typical year strayed about 0.14 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.2 standard deviations below that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SP.DYN.LE00.IN, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: 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 publ… Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.
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