Data for 1950

Life Expectancy at Birth, 1950

Name: Life Expectancy at Birth, 1950
Creator: UN DESA Population Division
License: https://population.un.org/wpp/downloads

Figures for 1950, as UN DESA Population Division published them · stored as published, never rewritten

Life Expectancy at Birth, 1950 covers 222 countries. San Marino is highest, at 71.590; North Korea is lowest, at 14.202. The middle country reads 48.548.

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Life Expectancy at Birth · Data for 1950

HighestSan Marino

71.590

LowestNorth Korea

14.202

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

222countries
1measure
1950the 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 Birth, 1950, 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 Birth, 1950: every country, as published by UN DESA Population Division.
derived
1	San Marino`SMR`Southern Europe	71.590
2	Norway`NOR`Northern Europe	71.588
3	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	71.440
4	Sweden`SWE`Northern Europe	71.139
5	Iceland`ISL`Northern Europe	71.030
6	Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	70.308
7	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	69.861
8	New Zealand`NZL`Australia and New Zealand	69.253
9	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	69.000
10	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	68.913
11	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	68.631
12	Canada`CAN`Northern America	68.215
13	United States`USA`Northern America	68.067
14	Monaco`MCO`Western Europe	68.000
15	Andorra`AND`Southern Europe	67.159
16	Germany`DEU`Western Europe	66.811
17	France`FRA`Western Europe	66.382
18	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	66.362
19	Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	66.307
20	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	66.213
21	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	66.068
22	Vatican City`VAT`Southern Europe	65.854
23	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	65.725
24	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	65.578
25	Uruguay`URY`South America	65.574
26	Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	65.547
27	Liechtenstein`LIE`Western Europe	65.338
28	Saint Martin`MAF`Caribbean	65.118
29	Gibraltar`GIB`Southern Europe	65.104
30	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	64.813
31	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	64.572
32	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	64.406
33	Finland`FIN`Northern Europe	64.201
34	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	63.474
35	Isle of Man`IMN`Northern Europe	63.062
36	Sint Maarten`SXM`Caribbean	62.433
37	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	62.138
38	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	61.815
39	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	61.754
40	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	61.469
41	Argentina`ARG`South America	61.275
42	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	61.174
43	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	60.776
44	Faroe Islands`FRO`Northern Europe	60.570
45	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	60.508
46	Puerto Rico`PRI`Caribbean	60.368
47	Bermuda`BMU`Northern America	60.357
48	Curaçao`CUW`Caribbean	60.291
49	United States Virgin Islands`VIR`Caribbean	59.902
50	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	59.900
51	Guam`GUM`Micronesia	59.569
52	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	59.255
53	American Samoa`ASM`Polynesia	59.168
54	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	58.989
55	Bahamas`BHS`Caribbean	58.893
56	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	58.642
57	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	58.479
58	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	58.453
59	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	58.333
60	Macau`MAC`Eastern Asia	58.332
61	Northern Mariana Islands`MNP`Micronesia	58.215
62	Antigua and Barbuda`ATG`Caribbean	58.100
63	Paraguay`PRY`South America	58.055
64	Montenegro`MNE`Southern Europe	58.026
65	Aruba`ABW`Caribbean	57.987
66	Seychelles`SYC`Eastern Africa	57.819
67	Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	57.818
68	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	57.711
69	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	57.461
70	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	56.979
71	Nauru`NRU`Micronesia	56.609
72	Taiwan`TWN`Eastern Asia	56.587
73	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	56.561
74	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	55.828
75	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	55.594
76	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	55.472
77	Panama`PAN`Central America	55.399
78	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	55.088
79	Anguilla`AIA`Caribbean	55.056
80	Saint Kitts and Nevis`KNA`Caribbean	54.782
81	Niue`NIU`Polynesia	54.566
82	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	54.554
83	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	54.092
84	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	54.033
85	Cayman Islands`CYM`Caribbean	54.005
86	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	53.592
87	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	53.578
88	British Virgin Islands`VGB`Caribbean	53.350
89	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	53.343
90	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	53.169
91	Chile`CHL`South America	53.151
92	Grenada`GRD`Caribbean	52.722
93	Palau`PLW`Micronesia	52.675
94	Marshall Islands`MHL`Micronesia	52.611
95	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	52.060
96	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	51.938
97	French Polynesia`PYF`Polynesia	51.859
98	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	51.708
99	Venezuela`VEN`South America	51.143
100	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	50.759
101	Suriname`SUR`South America	50.702
102	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	50.607
103	Brunei`BRN`South-eastern Asia	50.565
104	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	49.737
105	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	49.416
106	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	49.349
107	Guyana`GUY`South America	49.208
108	Belize`BLZ`Central America	49.205
109	Samoa`WSM`Polynesia	49.196
110	Montserrat`MSR`Caribbean	48.587
111	Turks and Caicos Islands`TCA`Caribbean	48.567
112	Brazil`BRA`South America	48.529
113	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	48.491
114	Ecuador`ECU`South America	48.449
115	Tonga`TON`Polynesia	48.376
116	Micronesia`FSM`Micronesia	48.356
117	Saint Lucia`LCA`Caribbean	48.289
118	Colombia`COL`South America	48.285
119	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	48.097
120	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	48.041
121	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	47.332
122	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	47.292
123	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines`VCT`Caribbean	46.897
124	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	46.803
125	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	46.288
126	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	46.171
127	Peru`PER`South America	46.032
128	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	45.806
129	Palestine`PSE`Western Asia	45.748
130	Kiribati`KIR`Micronesia	45.721
131	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	45.189
132	New Caledonia`NCL`Melanesia	45.095
133	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	44.945
134	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	44.629
135	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	44.521
136	Dominica`DMA`Caribbean	44.490
137	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	44.195
138	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	44.065
139	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	43.926
140	Mexico`MEX`Central America	43.836
141	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	43.829
142	Kosovo`XKX`Southern Europe	43.497
143	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	43.438
144	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	43.180
145	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	43.109
146	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	43.072
147	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	42.679
148	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	42.455
149	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	42.148
150	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	41.949
151	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	41.926
152	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	41.453
153	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	41.429
154	India`IND`Southern Asia	41.182
155	Honduras`HND`Central America	41.049
156	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	41.032
157	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	40.938
158	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	40.874
159	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	40.728
160	Bolivia`BOL`South America	40.703
161	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	40.630
162	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	40.207
163	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	40.111
164	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	40.017
165	Tuvalu`TUV`Polynesia	40.007
166	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	39.707
167	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	39.658
168	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	39.602
169	Greenland`GRL`Northern America	39.503
170	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	39.359
171	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	39.268
172	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	39.129
173	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	38.940
174	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	38.859
175	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	38.768
176	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	38.602
177	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	38.598
178	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	38.378
179	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	38.220
180	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	38.216
181	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	38.193
182	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	37.966
183	Cook Islands`COK`Polynesia	37.950
184	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	37.799
185	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	37.563
186	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	37.411
187	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	37.398
188	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	37.392
189	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	37.330
190	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	37.245
191	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	36.864
192	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	36.498
193	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	36.493
194	Niger`NER`Western Africa	35.901
195	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	35.866
196	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	35.736
197	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	35.700
198	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	35.586
199	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	35.528
200	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	35.512
201	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	35.445
202	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	35.396
203	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	35.308
204	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	35.230
205	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	34.248
206	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	33.950
207	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	33.294
208	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	33.112
209	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	33.091
210	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	33.026
211	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	32.660
212	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	31.156
213	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	30.833
214	South Sudan`SSD`Eastern Africa	30.206
215	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	29.300
216	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	29.161
217	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	28.935
218	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	28.934
219	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	28.731
220	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	28.156
221	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	22.226
222	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	14.202

02In 1950

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

1San Marino71.590
2Norway71.588
3Netherlands71.440
4Sweden71.139
5Iceland71.030

Lowest

222North Korea14.202
221South Korea22.226
220Afghanistan28.156
219Mali28.731
218Yemen28.934

A higher value is the better result. The middle country reads 48.548. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

03Caveats

Read before you use

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

How values are stored

The position is ours
UN DESA Population Division publishes values only; the order is this site’s.
Nothing missing
Every one of the 222 countries has every column.

04The 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 · 6.5 KB · UTF-8, opens in Excel
Opens with 11 lines of source notes; the table starts on row 13.
Download life-expectancy-1950-nations-inquiry.csv
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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 · what it allows, in plain words

Cite this edition

UN DESA Population Division (1950). Life Expectancy at Birth, 1950 [data set], describing 1950. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/life-expectancy/1950

0574 held

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06Questions