Data for 1956

Life Expectancy at Birth, 1956

Name: Life Expectancy at Birth, 1956
Creator: UN DESA Population Division
License: https://population.un.org/wpp/downloads

Figures for 1956, as UN DESA Population Division published them · stored as published, never rewritten

Life Expectancy at Birth, 1956 covers 222 countries. Norway is highest, at 73.486; Mali is lowest, at 29.854. The middle country reads 53.866. Against 1955, 222 values changed (207 up, 15 down), the same countries are covered.

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Life Expectancy at Birth · Data for 1956

HighestNorway

73.486

LowestMali

29.854

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

222countries
1measure
1956the 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, 1956, 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, 1956: every country, as published by UN DESA Population Division.
derived
1	Norway`NOR`Northern Europe	73.486
2	Iceland`ISL`Northern Europe	72.902
3	Sweden`SWE`Northern Europe	72.660
4	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	72.525
5	San Marino`SMR`Southern Europe	72.521
6	Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	72.042
7	Monaco`MCO`Western Europe	70.723
8	New Zealand`NZL`Australia and New Zealand	70.722
9	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	70.406
10	Andorra`AND`Southern Europe	70.233
11	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	70.199
12	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	70.037
13	Canada`CAN`Northern America	69.970
14	United States`USA`Northern America	69.643
15	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	69.368
16	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	68.957
17	Liechtenstein`LIE`Western Europe	68.890
18	Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	68.838
19	Germany`DEU`Western Europe	68.585
20	Gibraltar`GIB`Southern Europe	68.515
21	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	68.492
22	France`FRA`Western Europe	68.465
23	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	68.374
24	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	68.122
25	Finland`FIN`Northern Europe	67.985
26	Faroe Islands`FRO`Northern Europe	67.979
27	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	67.681
28	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	67.640
29	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	67.609
30	Vatican City`VAT`Southern Europe	67.306
31	Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	67.139
32	Uruguay`URY`South America	66.907
33	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	66.847
34	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	66.761
35	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	66.751
36	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	66.592
37	Saint Martin`MAF`Caribbean	66.511
38	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	66.502
39	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	66.498
40	Puerto Rico`PRI`Caribbean	66.370
41	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	66.260
42	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	66.001
43	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	65.560
44	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	65.219
45	Sint Maarten`SXM`Caribbean	65.164
46	Isle of Man`IMN`Northern Europe	64.953
47	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	64.503
48	Bermuda`BMU`Northern America	64.240
49	Curaçao`CUW`Caribbean	63.762
50	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	63.635
51	Argentina`ARG`South America	63.577
52	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	63.559
53	Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	63.448
54	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	63.426
55	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	62.617
56	American Samoa`ASM`Polynesia	62.338
57	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	62.237
58	Aruba`ABW`Caribbean	62.045
59	Montenegro`MNE`Southern Europe	62.008
60	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	61.859
61	Guam`GUM`Micronesia	61.536
62	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	61.484
63	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	61.202
64	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	61.167
65	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	61.163
66	Bahamas`BHS`Caribbean	61.013
67	Macau`MAC`Eastern Asia	60.951
68	United States Virgin Islands`VIR`Caribbean	60.946
69	Antigua and Barbuda`ATG`Caribbean	60.666
70	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	60.542
71	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	60.388
72	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	60.343
73	Taiwan`TWN`Eastern Asia	60.313
74	Northern Mariana Islands`MNP`Micronesia	60.066
75	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	59.850
76	Seychelles`SYC`Eastern Africa	59.813
77	British Virgin Islands`VGB`Caribbean	59.503
78	Grenada`GRD`Caribbean	59.020
79	Paraguay`PRY`South America	59.015
80	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	58.472
81	Anguilla`AIA`Caribbean	58.170
82	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	57.895
83	Panama`PAN`Central America	57.877
84	Nauru`NRU`Micronesia	57.605
85	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	57.434
86	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	57.355
87	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	57.246
88	Niue`NIU`Polynesia	57.186
89	French Polynesia`PYF`Polynesia	57.181
90	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	57.056
91	Cayman Islands`CYM`Caribbean	56.806
92	Saint Kitts and Nevis`KNA`Caribbean	56.386
93	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	56.158
94	Saint Lucia`LCA`Caribbean	55.888
95	Brunei`BRN`South-eastern Asia	55.740
96	Tonga`TON`Polynesia	55.663
97	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	55.535
98	Venezuela`VEN`South America	55.505
99	Chile`CHL`South America	55.482
100	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	55.190
101	Guyana`GUY`South America	55.156
102	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	55.071
103	Dominica`DMA`Caribbean	55.038
104	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	54.944
105	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines`VCT`Caribbean	54.938
106	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	54.906
107	Montserrat`MSR`Caribbean	54.627
108	Suriname`SUR`South America	54.103
109	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	53.924
110	Palau`PLW`Micronesia	53.916
111	Belize`BLZ`Central America	53.871
112	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	53.860
113	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	53.670
114	Turks and Caicos Islands`TCA`Caribbean	53.331
115	Marshall Islands`MHL`Micronesia	53.157
116	Samoa`WSM`Polynesia	52.832
117	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	52.783
118	Colombia`COL`South America	52.525
119	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	51.801
120	Micronesia`FSM`Micronesia	51.726
121	Brazil`BRA`South America	51.343
122	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	51.117
123	Greenland`GRL`Northern America	51.104
124	Ecuador`ECU`South America	50.883
125	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	50.847
126	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	50.569
127	Mexico`MEX`Central America	50.355
128	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	50.204
129	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	49.474
130	New Caledonia`NCL`Melanesia	49.374
131	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	49.214
132	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	49.129
133	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	48.991
134	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	48.797
135	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	48.710
136	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	48.639
137	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	48.613
138	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	48.493
139	Peru`PER`South America	48.382
140	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	48.087
141	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	48.003
142	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	47.807
143	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	47.672
144	Palestine`PSE`Western Asia	47.568
145	Cook Islands`COK`Polynesia	47.260
146	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	47.092
147	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	46.925
148	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	46.561
149	Kiribati`KIR`Micronesia	46.505
150	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	46.369
151	Kosovo`XKX`Southern Europe	46.253
152	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	45.748
153	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	45.703
154	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	45.176
155	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	45.110
156	Tuvalu`TUV`Polynesia	45.016
157	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	44.304
158	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	44.277
159	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	44.276
160	Honduras`HND`Central America	44.247
161	India`IND`Southern Asia	44.133
162	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	44.127
163	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	43.655
164	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	43.530
165	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	43.260
166	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	43.127
167	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	43.016
168	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	42.833
169	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	42.762
170	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	42.713
171	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	42.412
172	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	42.287
173	Bolivia`BOL`South America	42.197
174	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	41.990
175	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	41.691
176	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	41.674
177	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	41.603
178	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	41.599
179	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	41.353
180	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	41.345
181	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	41.291
182	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	41.216
183	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	41.197
184	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	41.141
185	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	41.055
186	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	41.015
187	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	40.909
188	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	40.617
189	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	40.563
190	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	40.504
191	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	39.904
192	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	39.594
193	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	39.543
194	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	39.367
195	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	38.876
196	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	38.415
197	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	38.096
198	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	37.919
199	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	37.898
200	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	37.837
201	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	37.785
202	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	37.281
203	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	37.146
204	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	37.081
205	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	36.778
206	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	36.482
207	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	36.056
208	Niger`NER`Western Africa	36.040
209	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	36.003
210	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	35.632
211	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	35.616
212	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	34.762
213	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	34.464
214	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	33.849
215	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	32.756
216	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	32.374
217	South Sudan`SSD`Eastern Africa	31.625
218	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	31.315
219	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	31.297
220	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	30.983
221	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	30.830
222	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	29.854

02In 1956

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

1Norway73.486
2Iceland72.902
3Sweden72.660
4Netherlands72.525
5San Marino72.521

Lowest

222Mali29.854
221Afghanistan30.830
220Timor-Leste30.983
219Yemen31.297
218Sierra Leone31.315

A higher value is the better result. The middle country reads 53.866. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

031955 → 1956

Since 1955

What changed between 1955 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
222values changed, of 222 in both
207 · 15rose · fell
0unchanged

Rose most

Russia62.059 → 66.498+4.439
North Macedonia55.369 → 58.472+3.103
Greenland48.795 → 51.104+2.309
South Korea48.353 → 50.204+1.850
Dominica53.408 → 55.038+1.630

Fell most

United States Virgin Islands62.939 → 60.946−1.993
Solomon Islands44.349 → 42.833−1.516
Israel68.003 → 66.592−1.410
Hungary66.898 → 66.001−0.897
Italy68.251 → 67.640−0.612

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-1956-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 (1956). Life Expectancy at Birth, 1956 [data set], describing 1956. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/life-expectancy/1956

0674 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Life Expectancy at Birth, 1955
222 countries
The year after ›
Life Expectancy at Birth, 1957
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