Data for 1981

Life Expectancy at Birth, 1981

Name: Life Expectancy at Birth, 1981
Creator: UN DESA Population Division
License: https://population.un.org/wpp/downloads

Figures for 1981, as UN DESA Population Division published them · stored as published, never rewritten

Life Expectancy at Birth, 1981 covers 222 countries. Andorra is highest, at 77.392; Timor-Leste is lowest, at 31.248. The middle country reads 65.445. Against 1980, 222 values changed (203 up, 19 down), the same countries are covered.

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Life Expectancy at Birth · Data for 1981

HighestAndorra

77.392

LowestTimor-Leste

31.248

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

222countries
1measure
1981the 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, 1981, 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, 1981: every country, as published by UN DESA Population Division.
derived
1	Andorra`AND`Southern Europe	77.392
2	San Marino`SMR`Southern Europe	76.584
3	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	76.563
4	Iceland`ISL`Northern Europe	76.192
5	Sweden`SWE`Northern Europe	76.041
6	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	75.991
7	Norway`NOR`Northern Europe	75.882
8	Faroe Islands`FRO`Northern Europe	75.831
9	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	75.818
10	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	75.706
11	Canada`CAN`Northern America	75.482
12	Monaco`MCO`Western Europe	74.953
13	Liechtenstein`LIE`Western Europe	74.948
14	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	74.909
15	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	74.783
16	Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	74.598
17	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	74.439
18	France`FRA`Western Europe	74.397
19	Vatican City`VAT`Southern Europe	74.318
20	Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	74.251
21	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	74.195
22	United States`USA`Northern America	74.117
23	Gibraltar`GIB`Southern Europe	73.999
24	Finland`FIN`Northern Europe	73.965
25	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	73.916
26	Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	73.652
27	New Zealand`NZL`Australia and New Zealand	73.632
28	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	73.441
29	Macau`MAC`Eastern Asia	73.367
30	Germany`DEU`Western Europe	73.331
31	Antigua and Barbuda`ATG`Caribbean	73.321
32	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	73.053
33	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	72.996
34	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	72.990
35	Puerto Rico`PRI`Caribbean	72.981
36	Bermuda`BMU`Northern America	72.892
37	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	72.888
38	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	72.630
39	Saint Martin`MAF`Caribbean	72.384
40	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	72.367
41	Montenegro`MNE`Southern Europe	72.126
42	Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	72.077
43	Taiwan`TWN`Eastern Asia	72.018
44	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	71.890
45	Sint Maarten`SXM`Caribbean	71.864
46	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	71.748
47	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	71.647
48	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	71.522
49	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	71.478
50	Dominica`DMA`Caribbean	71.460
51	Aruba`ABW`Caribbean	71.344
52	Guam`GUM`Micronesia	71.180
53	Curaçao`CUW`Caribbean	71.175
54	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	71.111
55	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	71.037
56	Uruguay`URY`South America	70.952
57	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	70.876
58	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	70.772
59	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	70.754
60	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	70.687
61	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	70.623
62	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	70.609
63	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	70.313
64	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	70.145
65	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	70.055
66	Cayman Islands`CYM`Caribbean	69.951
67	British Virgin Islands`VGB`Caribbean	69.906
68	Chile`CHL`South America	69.822
69	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	69.816
70	Panama`PAN`Central America	69.790
71	American Samoa`ASM`Polynesia	69.731
72	Montserrat`MSR`Caribbean	69.534
73	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	69.506
74	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	69.433
75	Bahamas`BHS`Caribbean	69.368
76	Brunei`BRN`South-eastern Asia	69.344
77	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	69.336
78	Anguilla`AIA`Caribbean	69.253
79	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	69.151
80	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	69.120
81	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	69.079
82	United States Virgin Islands`VIR`Caribbean	68.920
83	Argentina`ARG`South America	68.858
84	Isle of Man`IMN`Northern Europe	68.812
85	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	68.741
86	Seychelles`SYC`Eastern Africa	68.731
87	Venezuela`VEN`South America	68.697
88	Saint Lucia`LCA`Caribbean	68.688
89	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	68.622
90	Northern Mariana Islands`MNP`Micronesia	68.479
91	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	68.461
92	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	68.380
93	Grenada`GRD`Caribbean	68.348
94	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines`VCT`Caribbean	68.292
95	French Polynesia`PYF`Polynesia	68.157
96	Niue`NIU`Polynesia	67.820
97	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	67.657
98	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	67.616
99	Turks and Caicos Islands`TCA`Caribbean	67.439
100	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	67.216
101	Colombia`COL`South America	67.190
102	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	67.141
103	Belize`BLZ`Central America	67.095
104	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	66.920
105	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	66.459
106	Tonga`TON`Polynesia	66.357
107	Cook Islands`COK`Polynesia	66.054
108	New Caledonia`NCL`Melanesia	65.987
109	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	65.779
110	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	65.707
111	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	65.595
112	Samoa`WSM`Polynesia	65.296
113	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	65.255
114	Paraguay`PRY`South America	64.811
115	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	64.778
116	Mexico`MEX`Central America	64.722
117	Saint Kitts and Nevis`KNA`Caribbean	64.620
118	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	64.598
119	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	64.374
120	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	64.077
121	Ecuador`ECU`South America	63.809
122	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	63.776
123	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	63.252
124	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	63.223
125	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	63.194
126	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	63.027
127	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	62.996
128	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	62.856
129	Palestine`PSE`Western Asia	62.836
130	Micronesia`FSM`Micronesia	62.668
131	Greenland`GRL`Northern America	62.332
132	Brazil`BRA`South America	62.267
133	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	62.255
134	Palau`PLW`Micronesia	62.143
135	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	61.950
136	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	61.942
137	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	61.908
138	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	61.850
139	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	61.299
140	Marshall Islands`MHL`Micronesia	61.139
141	Honduras`HND`Central America	61.033
142	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	60.983
143	Guyana`GUY`South America	60.911
144	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	60.802
145	Suriname`SUR`South America	60.795
146	Tuvalu`TUV`Polynesia	60.489
147	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	60.445
148	Kosovo`XKX`Southern Europe	60.372
149	Peru`PER`South America	60.325
150	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	60.279
151	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	59.562
152	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	59.446
153	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	59.432
154	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	59.096
155	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	58.788
156	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	58.758
157	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	58.652
158	Nauru`NRU`Micronesia	58.555
159	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	58.332
160	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	58.278
161	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	57.764
162	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	57.760
163	Kiribati`KIR`Micronesia	57.525
164	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	57.422
165	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	57.308
166	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	57.065
167	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	56.912
168	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	56.625
169	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	56.454
170	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	56.023
171	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	55.729
172	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	55.405
173	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	54.986
174	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	54.710
175	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	54.699
176	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	54.369
177	India`IND`Southern Asia	54.173
178	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	53.684
179	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	52.781
180	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	52.638
181	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	52.355
182	Bolivia`BOL`South America	52.259
183	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	51.791
184	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	51.703
185	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	51.679
186	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	51.313
187	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	51.227
188	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	51.211
189	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	50.889
190	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	50.310
191	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	50.028
192	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	49.806
193	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	49.237
194	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	49.216
195	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	49.107
196	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	49.083
197	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	48.975
198	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	48.662
199	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	48.122
200	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	48.035
201	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	47.817
202	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	46.866
203	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	46.412
204	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	46.309
205	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	45.726
206	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	44.974
207	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	44.720
208	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	44.489
209	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	44.344
210	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	43.926
211	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	43.497
212	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	43.456
213	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	43.330
214	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	43.086
215	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	43.084
216	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	42.556
217	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	41.643
218	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	40.984
219	Niger`NER`Western Africa	39.637
220	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	39.406
221	South Sudan`SSD`Eastern Africa	38.314
222	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	31.248

02In 1981

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

1Andorra77.392
2San Marino76.584
3Japan76.563
4Iceland76.192
5Sweden76.041

Lowest

222Timor-Leste31.248
221South Sudan38.314
220Afghanistan39.406
219Niger39.637
218Mali40.984

A higher value is the better result. The middle country reads 65.445. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

031980 → 1981

Since 1980

What changed between 1980 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
222values changed, of 222 in both
203 · 19rose · fell
0unchanged

Rose most

Algeria54.512 → 57.422+2.910
El Salvador48.589 → 50.889+2.300
South Korea64.848 → 67.141+2.292
Oman59.601 → 60.802+1.202
Rwanda48.122 → 49.216+1.094

Fell most

Mozambique43.987 → 41.643−2.344
Iraq60.916 → 58.652−2.264
Syria66.545 → 64.598−1.947
Iran58.369 → 56.625−1.744
Guatemala55.297 → 54.710−0.587

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-1981-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 (1981). Life Expectancy at Birth, 1981 [data set], describing 1981. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/life-expectancy/1981

0674 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Life Expectancy at Birth, 1980
222 countries
The year after ›
Life Expectancy at Birth, 1982
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