Croatia's life expectancy at birth, total (years) was 78.93 in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 1.55% from 77.72 in 2014 (0.15% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 78.93 | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 78.22 | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | 77.72 | 2014 |
| Highest | 78.93 | 2024 |
| Lowest | 65.75 | 1960 |
| Average since 2015 | 77.8 | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 65.75 | 1960 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, Croatia's life expectancy at birth, total (years) rose 0.46 on 2023 (from 78.47 to 78.93).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.23 and a typical year strayed about 0.53 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 1.71 in 2001 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.1 in 2021. 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 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 12% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2024, Croatia had the 60th 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 | |
|---|---|---|
| Croatia | 78.93 | 2024 |
| World | 73.48 | 2024 |
| Europe & Central Asia | 78.6 | 2024 |
| High income | 80.39 | 2024 |
Closest to Croatia in the 2024 ranking
- Estonia — 56th of 217: 79.3
- Saudi Arabia — 57th of 217: 78.98
- Northern Mariana Islands — 58th of 217: 78.95
- New Caledonia — 60th of 217: 78.92
- United States — 61st of 217: 78.89
- Poland — 62nd of 217: 78.41
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 | 78.93 |
| 2023 | 78.47 |
| 2022 | 77.58 |
| 2021 | 76.42 |
| 2020 | 77.52 |
| 2019 | 78.22 |
| 2018 | 77.92 |
| 2017 | 77.73 |
| 2016 | 77.92 |
| 2015 | 77.28 |
| 2014 |
Life expectancy at birth, total (years) in nearby economies
- Albania — 79.78 (2024)
- Andorra — 84.19 (2024)
- Armenia — 78.32 (2024)
- Austria — 82 (2024)
- Azerbaijan — 74.58 (2024)
- Belarus — 74.37 (2024)
- Belgium — 82.3 (2024)
- Bosnia and Herzegovina — 78.04 (2024)
- Bulgaria — 75.76 (2024)
- Channel Islands — 81.2 (2024)
- Cyprus
More health data for Croatia
- Population ages 00-04, female (% of female population) — 3.98% (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male (% of male population) — 4.52% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female — 257,531 (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, female (% of female population) — 12.84% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male — 273,602 (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, male (% of male population) — 14.63% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14, total — 531,134 (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 (% of total population) — 13.7% (2025)
- Population ages 05-09, female (% of female population) — 4.16% (2025)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Croatia's life expectancy at birth, total (years)?
- 78.93 in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1960?
- It is up 20.05% from 65.75 in 1960 (0.29% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 78.93 in 2024 and the lowest 65.75 in 1960.
- How does Croatia rank?
- 60th highest of 217 economies with data for 2024.
- Is the latest change in life expectancy at birth, total (years) unusual for Croatia?
- In 2024, Croatia's life expectancy at birth, total (years) rose 0.46 on 2023 (from 78.47 to 78.93). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.23 and a typical year strayed about 0.53 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
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.
Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.
Legal entity
Devansh Yadav
Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh
Governing law: Courts at Moradabad, Uttar Pradesh
Phone: +91 8433475698
Legal: legal@analyzeit.in