Data for 1951

Life Expectancy at Birth, 1951

Name: Life Expectancy at Birth, 1951
Creator: UN DESA Population Division
License: https://population.un.org/wpp/downloads

Figures for 1951, as UN DESA Population Division published them · stored as published, never rewritten

Life Expectancy at Birth, 1951 covers 222 countries. Norway is highest, at 72.526; North Korea is lowest, at 17.664. The middle country reads 49.540. Against 1950, 222 values changed (200 up, 22 down), the same countries are covered.

Download CSV Cite this year

Share this page

Life Expectancy at Birth · Data for 1951

HighestNorway

72.526

LowestNorth Korea

17.664

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

222countries
1measure
1951the 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, 1951, 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, 1951: every country, as published by UN DESA Population Division.
derived
1	Norway`NOR`Northern Europe	72.526
2	San Marino`SMR`Southern Europe	71.714
3	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	71.498
4	Sweden`SWE`Northern Europe	71.364
5	Iceland`ISL`Northern Europe	71.005
6	Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	70.924
7	New Zealand`NZL`Australia and New Zealand	69.129
8	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	68.700
9	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	68.694
10	Canada`CAN`Northern America	68.508
11	Monaco`MCO`Western Europe	68.358
12	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	68.239
13	United States`USA`Northern America	68.174
14	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	67.628
15	Andorra`AND`Southern Europe	67.531
16	Germany`DEU`Western Europe	67.142
17	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	66.750
18	Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	66.748
19	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	66.735
20	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	66.148
21	France`FRA`Western Europe	66.097
22	Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	65.856
23	Liechtenstein`LIE`Western Europe	65.849
24	Uruguay`URY`South America	65.842
25	Finland`FIN`Northern Europe	65.635
26	Saint Martin`MAF`Caribbean	65.353
27	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	65.322
28	Gibraltar`GIB`Southern Europe	65.286
29	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	65.267
30	Vatican City`VAT`Southern Europe	65.254
31	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	65.223
32	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	65.184
33	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	64.754
34	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	63.913
35	Isle of Man`IMN`Northern Europe	63.357
36	Sint Maarten`SXM`Caribbean	63.126
37	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	62.473
38	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	62.346
39	Argentina`ARG`South America	61.709
40	Faroe Islands`FRO`Northern Europe	61.666
41	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	61.482
42	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	61.364
43	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	61.160
44	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	61.146
45	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	60.989
46	Curaçao`CUW`Caribbean	60.967
47	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	60.692
48	Bermuda`BMU`Northern America	60.612
49	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	60.330
50	Puerto Rico`PRI`Caribbean	60.265
51	Guam`GUM`Micronesia	59.859
52	American Samoa`ASM`Polynesia	59.654
53	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	59.408
54	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	59.388
55	Bahamas`BHS`Caribbean	59.201
56	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	59.030
57	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	58.857
58	Macau`MAC`Eastern Asia	58.822
59	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	58.750
60	Aruba`ABW`Caribbean	58.729
61	Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	58.716
62	Antigua and Barbuda`ATG`Caribbean	58.604
63	Montenegro`MNE`Southern Europe	58.547
64	Northern Mariana Islands`MNP`Micronesia	58.536
65	Paraguay`PRY`South America	58.263
66	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	58.049
67	Seychelles`SYC`Eastern Africa	58.037
68	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	57.819
69	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	57.333
70	Taiwan`TWN`Eastern Asia	57.190
71	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	57.133
72	United States Virgin Islands`VIR`Caribbean	57.111
73	Nauru`NRU`Micronesia	56.763
74	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	56.762
75	Panama`PAN`Central America	55.883
76	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	55.853
77	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	55.612
78	Anguilla`AIA`Caribbean	55.593
79	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	55.266
80	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	55.260
81	Saint Kitts and Nevis`KNA`Caribbean	55.227
82	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	55.036
83	Niue`NIU`Polynesia	54.948
84	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	54.706
85	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	54.518
86	Cayman Islands`CYM`Caribbean	54.493
87	British Virgin Islands`VGB`Caribbean	54.258
88	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	54.079
89	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	53.981
90	Grenada`GRD`Caribbean	53.831
91	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	53.657
92	Chile`CHL`South America	53.537
93	Palau`PLW`Micronesia	52.868
94	French Polynesia`PYF`Polynesia	52.843
95	Marshall Islands`MHL`Micronesia	52.672
96	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	52.470
97	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	52.368
98	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	52.203
99	Venezuela`VEN`South America	51.989
100	Brunei`BRN`South-eastern Asia	51.538
101	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	51.456
102	Suriname`SUR`South America	51.074
103	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	50.579
104	Guyana`GUY`South America	50.233
105	Belize`BLZ`Central America	49.933
106	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	49.836
107	Saint Lucia`LCA`Caribbean	49.816
108	Samoa`WSM`Polynesia	49.801
109	Tonga`TON`Polynesia	49.794
110	Montserrat`MSR`Caribbean	49.650
111	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	49.637
112	Turks and Caicos Islands`TCA`Caribbean	49.444
113	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	49.222
114	Brazil`BRA`South America	49.045
115	Colombia`COL`South America	48.962
116	Micronesia`FSM`Micronesia	48.940
117	Ecuador`ECU`South America	48.897
118	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	48.700
119	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines`VCT`Caribbean	48.584
120	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	48.558
121	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	48.518
122	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	48.369
123	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	47.604
124	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	47.168
125	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	46.640
126	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	46.591
127	Peru`PER`South America	46.463
128	Dominica`DMA`Caribbean	46.317
129	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	46.232
130	Palestine`PSE`Western Asia	46.026
131	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	45.920
132	Kiribati`KIR`Micronesia	45.808
133	New Caledonia`NCL`Melanesia	45.724
134	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	45.552
135	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	45.274
136	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	45.217
137	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	44.825
138	Mexico`MEX`Central America	44.771
139	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	44.557
140	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	44.056
141	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	43.810
142	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	43.740
143	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	43.594
144	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	43.474
145	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	43.449
146	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	43.301
147	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	42.886
148	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	42.498
149	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	42.189
150	Kosovo`XKX`Southern Europe	42.151
151	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	42.073
152	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	42.024
153	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	41.999
154	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	41.665
155	India`IND`Southern Asia	41.595
156	Honduras`HND`Central America	41.590
157	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	41.229
158	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	41.182
159	Greenland`GRL`Northern America	41.085
160	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	41.036
161	Bolivia`BOL`South America	40.929
162	Tuvalu`TUV`Polynesia	40.835
163	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	40.834
164	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	40.805
165	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	40.551
166	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	40.371
167	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	40.345
168	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	40.219
169	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	39.978
170	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	39.940
171	Cook Islands`COK`Polynesia	39.570
172	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	39.270
173	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	39.172
174	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	39.146
175	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	39.125
176	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	39.053
177	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	39.037
178	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	38.968
179	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	38.846
180	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	38.717
181	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	38.661
182	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	38.514
183	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	38.344
184	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	38.136
185	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	38.082
186	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	38.036
187	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	38.024
188	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	37.735
189	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	37.608
190	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	37.077
191	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	36.912
192	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	36.513
193	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	36.046
194	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	35.912
195	Niger`NER`Western Africa	35.904
196	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	35.864
197	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	35.844
198	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	35.720
199	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	35.695
200	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	35.647
201	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	35.483
202	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	35.451
203	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	35.381
204	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	35.332
205	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	35.283
206	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	34.329
207	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	33.869
208	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	33.638
209	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	33.472
210	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	33.373
211	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	32.824
212	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	31.451
213	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	31.384
214	South Sudan`SSD`Eastern Africa	30.630
215	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	29.766
216	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	29.461
217	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	29.292
218	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	29.284
219	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	28.910
220	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	28.584
221	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	26.642
222	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	17.664

02In 1951

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

1Norway72.526
2San Marino71.714
3Netherlands71.498
4Sweden71.364
5Iceland71.005

Lowest

222North Korea17.664
221South Korea26.642
220Afghanistan28.584
219Mali28.910
218Yemen29.284

A higher value is the better result. The middle country reads 49.540. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

031950 → 1951

Since 1950

What changed between 1950 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
222values changed, of 222 in both
200 · 22rose · fell
0unchanged

Rose most

South Korea22.226 → 26.642+4.416
North Korea14.202 → 17.664+3.462
Dominica44.490 → 46.317+1.827
Japan59.255 → 60.989+1.734
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines46.897 → 48.584+1.687

Fell most

Papua New Guinea39.359 → 35.483−3.875
Comoros37.392 → 34.329−3.063
United States Virgin Islands59.902 → 57.111−2.791
Israel69.861 → 67.628−2.234
North Macedonia50.607 → 48.518−2.089

Changes in value, not in places: a country’s place also moves when others do. 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.

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.

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 · 6.5 KB · UTF-8, opens in Excel
Opens with 11 lines of source notes; the table starts on row 13.
Download life-expectancy-1951-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 · what it allows, in plain words

Cite this edition

UN DESA Population Division (1951). Life Expectancy at Birth, 1951 [data set], describing 1951. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/life-expectancy/1951

0674 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Life Expectancy at Birth, 1950
222 countries
The year after ›
Life Expectancy at Birth, 1952
222 countries
All of them
Life Expectancy at Birth: every year
74 held, with the data dictionary, coverage and licence.
How it has moved, charted by country

07Questions