Data for 1978

Life Expectancy at Age 65, 1978

1978, as UN DESA Population Division’s 2024 release gives it · stored as published, never rewritten

Life Expectancy at Age 65, 1978 covers 222 countries on 3 measures. Iceland is highest, at 17.8866; Cambodia is lowest, at 6.0027. The middle country reads 13.1634. Against 1977, 222 values changed (181 up, 41 down), the same countries are covered.

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Life Expectancy at Age 65 · Data for 1978

HighestIceland

17.8866

LowestCambodia

6.0027

Shaded by value in five groups of equal size, darkest at the better end. A higher value is the better result.

222countries
3measures per country
1978the year it describes
222distinct values4 decimals, as published
Sep 26, 2026read from the publisher
CC BY 3.0 IGOlicence

01Position · derived

The table

Every country and every column of Life Expectancy at Age 65, 1978, as published. UN DESA Population Division ranks nobody on this measure; the position is derived here by ordering the published values. “=” marks a shared position.

Search this table

Showing 25 of 222 countries · select a heading to sort

Life Expectancy at Age 65, 1978: every country, as published by UN DESA Population Division.
derived
1	IcelandISLNorthern Europe	17.8866	19.2448	16.4403
2	GibraltarGIBSouthern Europe	16.7155	17.6724	15.2963
3	AndorraANDSouthern Europe	16.6365	19.2280	14.5293
4	CanadaCANNorthern America	16.5155	18.5736	14.3544
5	Puerto RicoPRICaribbean	16.4633	17.7442	15.2442
6	United StatesUSANorthern America	16.3194	18.2942	14.0007
7	San MarinoSMRSouthern Europe	16.1913	17.8021	14.4570
8	SwitzerlandCHEWestern Europe	16.1771	17.8823	14.0979
9	NorwayNORNorthern Europe	16.0831	17.7228	14.2574
10	SwedenSWENorthern Europe	16.0448	17.7900	14.1944
11	JapanJPNEastern Asia	16.0065	17.3563	14.4155
12	FranceFRAWestern Europe	15.9941	17.8975	13.6441
13	GreeceGRCSouthern Europe	15.9791	17.2708	14.5091
14	Faroe IslandsFRONorthern Europe	15.9764	17.3949	14.6468
15	NetherlandsNLDWestern Europe	15.9289	17.8979	13.7272
16	SpainESPSouthern Europe	15.8437	17.2351	14.1338
17	MonacoMCOWestern Europe	15.8225	17.4427	13.8526
18	DenmarkDNKNorthern Europe	15.7660	17.5783	13.7840
19	LiechtensteinLIEWestern Europe	15.7620	17.1806	14.0153
20	AustraliaAUSAustralia and New Zealand	15.6854	17.6588	13.4808
21	LithuaniaLTUNorthern Europe	15.6337	17.0326	13.7213
22	Hong KongHKGEastern Asia	15.5024	17.0301	13.2775
23	Vatican CityVATSouthern Europe	15.4592	16.9304	13.6336
24	New ZealandNZLAustralia and New Zealand	15.4234	17.3203	13.3435
25	ItalyITASouthern Europe	15.3673	16.9973	13.4617
26	CubaCUBCaribbean	15.3549	16.2944	14.5518
27	BahamasBHSCaribbean	15.2620	16.8872	13.4074
28	Saint MartinMAFCaribbean	15.1800	16.9337	13.0869
29	Costa RicaCRICentral America	15.1503	16.0817	14.2035
30	Isle of ManIMNNorthern Europe	15.1078	16.1343	13.8031
31	IsraelISRWestern Asia	15.0669	16.0929	14.0680
32	UruguayURYSouth America	15.0343	16.9053	13.0507
33	Antigua and BarbudaATGCaribbean	14.9999	16.2803	13.2428
34	FinlandFINNorthern Europe	14.8582	16.6049	12.4478
35	BelarusBLREastern Europe	14.8529	16.1662	12.6422
36	MacauMACEastern Asia	14.8276	15.4878	13.4832
37	United KingdomGBRNorthern Europe	14.7910	16.5952	12.5776
38	TaiwanTWNEastern Asia	14.7566	15.8602	13.5924
39	BermudaBMUNorthern America	14.7489	16.4676	12.8476
40	SloveniaSVNSouthern Europe	14.7060	16.3582	12.4605
41	BelgiumBELWestern Europe	14.6768	16.3707	12.6605
42	CyprusCYPWestern Asia	14.5989	15.7539	13.3420
43	BarbadosBRBCaribbean	14.5897	15.2774	13.5778
44	TürkiyeTURWestern Asia	14.5747	16.5937	12.7888
45	CroatiaHRVSouthern Europe	14.5654	16.4721	12.1998
46	GermanyDEUWestern Europe	14.5487	15.9684	12.5541
47	MontenegroMNESouthern Europe	14.5088	15.4887	13.2461
48	UkraineUKREastern Europe	14.4910	15.8043	12.1567
49	Sint MaartenSXMCaribbean	14.4804	15.2942	13.6000
50	LatviaLVANorthern Europe	14.4776	15.8130	12.3317
51	AustriaAUTWestern Europe	14.4550	15.8678	12.4952
52	PortugalPRTSouthern Europe	14.4491	15.7599	12.8112
53	VietnamVNMSouth-eastern Asia	14.4197	15.5219	13.1257
54	ColombiaCOLSouth America	14.4194	15.4943	13.1619
55	RussiaRUSEastern Europe	14.4059	15.5164	11.9767
56	SerbiaSRBSouthern Europe	14.3814	15.5035	13.0994
57	VenezuelaVENSouth America	14.3803	15.1649	13.6225
58	PolandPOLEastern Europe	14.3628	15.8604	12.4472
59	GeorgiaGEOWestern Asia	14.2985	15.7543	12.2451
60	AlbaniaALBSouthern Europe	14.2738	15.8512	12.5925
61	ArubaABWCaribbean	14.2643	15.5752	12.7909
62	MexicoMEXCentral America	14.2629	14.7911	13.6934
63	GuamGUMMicronesia	14.2538	15.5358	12.9042
64	EstoniaESTNorthern Europe	14.2490	15.4890	12.0604
65	BelizeBLZCentral America	14.1859	15.0002	13.3743
66	Dominican RepublicDOMCaribbean	14.1845	15.1380	13.2749
67	LuxembourgLUXWestern Europe	14.1543	15.8475	12.1625
68	KuwaitKWTWestern Asia	14.1373	15.2015	13.1059
69	JamaicaJAMCaribbean	14.0939	14.6195	13.4555
70	PanamaPANCentral America	14.0657	15.3249	12.8514
71	DominicaDMACaribbean	14.0470	15.0460	12.7483
72	IrelandIRLNorthern Europe	14.0312	15.5781	12.4978
73	CuraçaoCUWCaribbean	13.9702	14.8583	12.8853
74	BahrainBHRWestern Asia	13.9405	14.7233	13.3265
75	RomaniaROUEastern Europe	13.9339	14.7454	12.9616
76	SlovakiaSVKEastern Europe	13.9140	15.3442	12.3093
77	ArgentinaARGSouth America	13.8983	15.5898	12.0638
78	American SamoaASMPolynesia	13.8696	14.8725	12.9603
79	BulgariaBGREastern Europe	13.8606	14.7422	12.9254
80	QatarQATWestern Asia	13.8206	14.4926	13.3415
81	Sri LankaLKASouthern Asia	13.7463	14.6288	13.0473
82	MontserratMSRCaribbean	13.7287	14.5937	12.6494
83	Cayman IslandsCYMCaribbean	13.7271	14.9123	12.1941
84	SingaporeSGPSouth-eastern Asia	13.6879	15.4640	11.8815
85	ThailandTHASouth-eastern Asia	13.6876	14.5503	12.6767
86	Northern Mariana IslandsMNPMicronesia	13.6695	15.4276	12.0332
87	North MacedoniaMKDSouthern Europe	13.6671	14.2493	13.0256
88	ZambiaZMBEastern Africa	13.6432	14.3181	12.8894
89	AnguillaAIACaribbean	13.6307	14.9678	12.0275
90	SeychellesSYCEastern Africa	13.6099	14.8074	12.2134
91	British Virgin IslandsVGBCaribbean	13.5763	14.9268	12.5049
92	GrenadaGRDCaribbean	13.5555	14.4273	12.3460
93	SyriaSYRWestern Asia	13.4739	14.4360	12.5102
94	United States Virgin IslandsVIRCaribbean	13.4687	14.6280	12.1916
95	BruneiBRNSouth-eastern Asia	13.4373	14.4885	12.6367
96	Saint Vincent and the GrenadinesVCTCaribbean	13.4298	13.9288	12.7376
97	ChileCHLSouth America	13.4098	14.8404	11.7682
98	United Arab EmiratesAREWestern Asia	13.3971	14.6084	12.5863
99	MaltaMLTSouthern Europe	13.3647	14.1531	12.4150
100	NamibiaNAMSouthern Africa	13.3519	14.1617	12.3375
101	Saint LuciaLCACaribbean	13.3223	14.3621	11.9566
102	IraqIRQWestern Asia	13.2980	14.1548	12.2201
103	South AfricaZAFSouthern Africa	13.2738	13.9372	12.5418
104	CzechiaCZEEastern Europe	13.2631	14.7059	11.4537
105	HungaryHUNEastern Europe	13.2347	14.5097	11.7157
106	Turks and Caicos IslandsTCACaribbean	13.2308	13.9954	12.0809
107	NiueNIUPolynesia	13.2190	14.6599	11.6686
108	GreenlandGRLNorthern America	13.2086	13.9728	12.2896
109	French PolynesiaPYFPolynesia	13.2050	13.9067	12.5917
110	JordanJORWestern Asia	13.1924	13.8427	12.5815
111	BrazilBRASouth America	13.1789	13.9777	12.3379
112	BotswanaBWASouthern Africa	13.1479	13.8605	12.1180
113	North KoreaPRKEastern Asia	13.1465	13.8669	11.9820
114	GuatemalaGTMCentral America	13.1383	13.6332	12.6473
115	Bosnia and HerzegovinaBIHSouthern Europe	13.0579	14.3697	11.5979
116	GabonGABMiddle Africa	13.0146	13.7814	12.0845
117	ArmeniaARMWestern Asia	12.9846	13.7666	11.9200
118	BoliviaBOLSouth America	12.9731	13.4150	12.4114
119	KenyaKENEastern Africa	12.9641	13.7275	12.3221
120	ZimbabweZWEEastern Africa	12.9599	14.1421	11.6569
121	South KoreaKOREastern Asia	12.9377	15.2698	10.2859
122	KosovoXKXSouthern Europe	12.8664	12.9975	12.7226
123	TongaTONPolynesia	12.8306	14.3011	11.5316
124	MoldovaMDAEastern Europe	12.7681	13.7792	11.3144
125	LibyaLBYNorthern Africa	12.7300	13.6774	11.9071
126	KazakhstanKAZCentral Asia	12.7176	13.6867	11.1081
127	ParaguayPRYSouth America	12.7047	13.4233	11.9158
128	UzbekistanUZBCentral Asia	12.6792	13.2940	11.8555
129	PalestinePSEWestern Asia	12.6623	13.3455	11.9749
130	Cook IslandsCOKPolynesia	12.6553	14.1371	11.5093
131	KyrgyzstanKGZCentral Asia	12.6507	13.8090	10.7241
132	BangladeshBGDSouthern Asia	12.6468	12.0946	13.1223
133	TunisiaTUNNorthern Africa	12.6431	13.1499	12.1371
134	PakistanPAKSouthern Asia	12.6430	13.1899	12.2679
135	EcuadorECUSouth America	12.6263	13.2532	11.8933
136	Saint Kitts and NevisKNACaribbean	12.6067	13.5988	11.3320
137	MalaysiaMYSSouth-eastern Asia	12.5899	13.4069	11.8094
138	SudanSDNNorthern Africa	12.5585	13.0045	12.0777
139	NicaraguaNICCentral America	12.5104	13.4661	11.4078
140	PeruPERSouth America	12.4941	12.9873	11.9942
141	AzerbaijanAZEWestern Asia	12.4773	13.1294	11.3069
142	New CaledoniaNCLMelanesia	12.4766	14.1498	10.9789
143	Saudi ArabiaSAUWestern Asia	12.4696	13.1175	11.7646
144	SamoaWSMPolynesia	12.4638	13.7034	11.3138
145	PhilippinesPHLSouth-eastern Asia	12.4392	13.3207	11.5092
146	EswatiniSWZSouthern Africa	12.4358	12.8664	11.8777
147	LebanonLBNWestern Asia	12.4325	13.1576	11.6462
148	ChinaCHNEastern Asia	12.4296	13.5310	11.0904
149	Trinidad and TobagoTTOCaribbean	12.3886	13.5508	11.0454
150	Solomon IslandsSLBMelanesia	12.3791	13.2823	11.8758
151	FijiFJIMelanesia	12.3679	14.3844	10.9169
152	LesothoLSOSouthern Africa	12.3667	13.4551	10.7942
153	MauritiusMUSEastern Africa	12.3620	14.6252	10.0846
154	Republic of the CongoCOGMiddle Africa	12.3498	12.8677	11.7722
155	MicronesiaFSMMicronesia	12.3239	13.4748	10.9214
156	OmanOMNWestern Asia	12.3184	13.0019	11.5208
157	Cabo VerdeCPVWestern Africa	12.2892	13.0254	11.5060
158	KiribatiKIRMicronesia	12.2578	12.8241	11.5498
159	São Tomé and PríncipeSTPMiddle Africa	12.2568	12.8736	11.5648
160	TanzaniaTZAEastern Africa	12.2530	12.9023	11.5539
161	TajikistanTJKCentral Asia	12.2325	12.7157	11.6197
162	DjiboutiDJIEastern Africa	12.2237	12.7028	11.6662
163	TurkmenistanTKMCentral Asia	12.2086	12.9315	11.1794
164	CameroonCMRMiddle Africa	12.2043	12.5979	11.7427
165	GhanaGHAWestern Africa	12.1893	12.7219	11.6804
166	UgandaUGAEastern Africa	12.1846	13.0201	11.4431
167	IndiaINDSouthern Asia	12.1794	12.6501	11.7355
168	IndonesiaIDNSouth-eastern Asia	12.1376	12.7585	11.4643
169	HondurasHNDCentral America	12.1006	12.7404	11.4197
170	BeninBENWestern Africa	12.0543	12.6724	11.2724
171	RwandaRWAEastern Africa	12.0426	12.2058	11.8478
172	IranIRNSouthern Asia	12.0424	12.6082	11.4949
173	PalauPLWMicronesia	11.9920	13.7433	10.2931
174	MadagascarMDGEastern Africa	11.9888	12.3472	11.6275
175	YemenYEMWestern Asia	11.9802	12.6503	11.1491
176	MongoliaMNGEastern Asia	11.9429	12.3984	11.3715
177	El SalvadorSLVCentral America	11.9243	12.7545	11.0169
178	Marshall IslandsMHLMicronesia	11.9139	13.2382	10.6660
179	MalawiMWIEastern Africa	11.9097	12.3762	11.3580
180	MyanmarMMRSouth-eastern Asia	11.9026	12.5384	11.1702
181	TuvaluTUVPolynesia	11.8846	12.8170	10.5807
182	MoroccoMARNorthern Africa	11.8708	12.3823	11.3235
183	SomaliaSOMEastern Africa	11.8008	12.2065	11.3417
184	GuyanaGUYSouth America	11.7920	12.8378	10.7943
185	Central African RepublicCAFMiddle Africa	11.7670	12.1728	11.3184
186	MauritaniaMRTWestern Africa	11.7656	12.2393	11.2522
187	Côte d’IvoireCIVWestern Africa	11.7609	12.2686	11.2902
188	Equatorial GuineaGNQMiddle Africa	11.7598	12.6491	10.6574
189	MozambiqueMOZEastern Africa	11.7334	11.9529	11.4739
190	HaitiHTICaribbean	11.7311	12.1976	11.1295
191	Guinea-BissauGNBWestern Africa	11.7062	12.2769	11.2744
192	GuineaGINWestern Africa	11.6918	12.1051	11.2330
193	VanuatuVUTMelanesia	11.6593	12.7546	11.0063
194	NigeriaNGAWestern Africa	11.5923	11.9775	11.1324
195	Sierra LeoneSLEWestern Africa	11.5791	11.8334	11.2892
196	EgyptEGYNorthern Africa	11.5157	12.3071	10.5508
197	BurundiBDIEastern Africa	11.4717	11.8217	11.0097
198	Papua New GuineaPNGMelanesia	11.4150	12.4968	10.8352
199	ComorosCOMEastern Africa	11.4144	11.8706	10.9851
200	NepalNPLSouthern Asia	11.4131	11.7660	11.0098
201	MaldivesMDVSouthern Asia	11.4042	11.7814	11.2050
202	AlgeriaDZANorthern Africa	11.3820	11.9235	10.8795
203	GambiaGMBWestern Africa	11.3561	11.5834	11.1325
204	ChadTCDMiddle Africa	11.3440	11.9772	10.5897
205	TogoTGOWestern Africa	11.3350	11.7010	10.8930
206	NauruNRUMicronesia	11.3128	12.9430	10.3986
207	DR CongoCODMiddle Africa	11.2778	11.5205	10.9432
208	LaosLAOSouth-eastern Asia	11.2732	11.6163	10.8644
209	BhutanBTNSouthern Asia	11.1063	11.6202	10.6302
210	LiberiaLBRWestern Africa	10.9760	10.9654	10.9841
211	EthiopiaETHEastern Africa	10.9467	11.8257	9.8076
212	AngolaAGOMiddle Africa	10.9170	11.5071	10.4391
213	Burkina FasoBFAWestern Africa	10.7797	11.1211	10.4258
214	SurinameSURSouth America	10.7584	12.1830	9.5233
215	EritreaERIEastern Africa	10.7543	11.2954	10.1028
216	SenegalSENWestern Africa	10.6954	10.9437	10.4167
217	South SudanSSDEastern Africa	10.2515	10.4744	9.9657
218	AfghanistanAFGSouthern Asia	10.1747	10.6303	9.7436
219	NigerNERWestern Africa	10.0831	10.3017	9.7763
220	MaliMLIWestern Africa	9.9583	10.0698	9.8343
221	Timor-LesteTLSSouth-eastern Asia	7.7905	8.7552	6.8471
222	CambodiaKHMSouth-eastern Asia	6.0027	6.7540	5.1898

02In 1978

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline, then the highest and lowest on each other measure.

Highest

1Iceland17.8866
2Gibraltar16.7155
3Andorra16.6365
4Canada16.5155
5Puerto Rico16.4633

Lowest

222Cambodia6.0027
221Timor-Leste7.7905
220Mali9.9583
219Niger10.0831
218Afghanistan10.1747

A higher value is the better result. The middle country reads 13.1634. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

Each measure’s ends

Women (further years at 65)
HighestIceland19.2448
LowestCambodia6.7540
Middle country: 14.1396
Men (further years at 65)
HighestIceland16.4403
LowestCambodia5.1898
Middle country: 12.0621

031977 → 1978

Since 1977

What changed between 1977 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
222values changed, of 222 in both
181 · 41rose · fell
0unchanged

Rose most

Iceland17.3436 → 17.8866+0.5430
New Zealand14.9183 → 15.4234+0.5051
Taiwan14.2899 → 14.7566+0.4667
Greece15.5718 → 15.9791+0.4073
Guatemala12.7807 → 13.1383+0.3576

Fell most

Timor-Leste8.1673 → 7.7905−0.3768
Nicaragua12.8219 → 12.5104−0.3115
Hungary13.5399 → 13.2347−0.3052
Serbia14.6540 → 14.3814−0.2726
Denmark15.9936 → 15.7660−0.2276

Both years come from the same release, so a difference here is a change in the data, not a revision of it. Every country’s full history is charted on the statistic page.

04Caveats

Read before you use

What this edition’s numbers are and are not, worked out from the file itself.

The site’s method

One year of the 2024 release
Every year in this series comes from UN DESA Population Division’s 2024 release, recalculated on one method. It can differ from what was first published for 1978.
The position is ours
UN DESA Population Division publishes values only. The order here sorts the published values, and the page says so wherever it prints one.
Which end is better
A higher value is the better result.
Nothing missing
Every one of the 222 countries has every column.

05The files

Download and cite

The table as a file, digit for digit, what this site changed, and a citation for this edition.

Licence in full

.csv
For a spreadsheet or code
222 rows · 9.9 KB · UTF-8, opens in Excel
Opens with 11 lines of source notes; the table starts on row 13.
Download life-expectancy-at-65-1978-nations-inquiry.csv
↗
The publisher’s original
UN DESA Population Division’s own file, on its own site.
WPP2024_Demographic_Indicators_Medium.csv.gz

What this site changed: Reshaped into one row per country: regional and income-group totals are left out, only the columns listed are kept, each row gets its ISO 3166 code, and some country names are brought to one spelling. No value is recalculated, rescaled or rounded.

Licence: CC BY 3.0 IGO. The version of CC BY written for intergovernmental organisations. Credit the publisher and say what you changed.

Cite this edition

UN DESA Population Division (1978). Life Expectancy at Age 65, 1978 [data set], describing 1978. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/life-expectancy-at-65/1978

0674 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Life Expectancy at Age 65, 1977
222 countries
The year after ›
Life Expectancy at Age 65, 1979
222 countries
All of them
Life Expectancy at Age 65: every year
74 held, with the data dictionary, coverage and licence.
How it has moved, charted by country

07Questions