Data for 1998

Life Expectancy at Birth, 1998

Name: Life Expectancy at Birth, 1998
Creator: UN DESA Population Division
License: https://population.un.org/wpp/downloads

Figures for 1998, as UN DESA Population Division published them · stored as published, never rewritten

Life Expectancy at Birth, 1998 covers 222 countries. Monaco is highest, at 81.6054; South Sudan is lowest, at 19.0479. The middle country reads 69.8836. Against 1997, 222 values changed (181 up, 41 down), the same countries are covered.

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Life Expectancy at Birth · Data for 1998

HighestMonaco

81.6054

LowestSouth Sudan

19.0479

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

222countries
1measure
1998the 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, 1998, 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, 1998: every country, as published by UN DESA Population Division.
derived
1	Monaco`MCO`Western Europe	81.6054
2	Andorra`AND`Southern Europe	81.2803
3	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	80.6487
4	Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	80.0723
5	San Marino`SMR`Southern Europe	79.9176
6	Gibraltar`GIB`Southern Europe	79.4765
7	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	79.4752
8	Sweden`SWE`Northern Europe	79.4163
9	Iceland`ISL`Northern Europe	79.3963
10	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	79.0202
11	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	78.9395
12	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	78.8068
13	Macau`MAC`Eastern Asia	78.7453
14	Canada`CAN`Northern America	78.6741
15	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	78.5881
16	France`FRA`Western Europe	78.5879
17	Norway`NOR`Northern Europe	78.4081
18	Vatican City`VAT`Southern Europe	78.3400
19	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	78.3027
20	New Zealand`NZL`Australia and New Zealand	78.1667
21	Faroe Islands`FRO`Northern Europe	78.0235
22	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	78.0044
23	French Polynesia`PYF`Polynesia	77.8419
24	Liechtenstein`LIE`Western Europe	77.8058
25	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	77.7987
26	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	77.7823
27	Germany`DEU`Western Europe	77.5759
28	Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	77.4763
29	Bermuda`BMU`Northern America	77.3890
30	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	77.2745
31	Finland`FIN`Northern Europe	77.2592
32	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	77.1641
33	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	76.8686
34	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	76.8510
35	United States`USA`Northern America	76.6592
36	Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	76.5712
37	Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	76.4357
38	Saint Martin`MAF`Caribbean	76.3380
39	Chile`CHL`South America	76.3241
40	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	76.1848
41	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	76.1161
42	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	75.6120
43	Taiwan`TWN`Eastern Asia	75.4752
44	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	75.4123
45	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	75.1392
46	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	75.0350
47	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	74.8721
48	Guam`GUM`Micronesia	74.7533
49	Anguilla`AIA`Caribbean	74.6097
50	British Virgin Islands`VGB`Caribbean	74.5687
51	Puerto Rico`PRI`Caribbean	74.5557
52	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	74.5527
53	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	74.4725
54	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	74.4652
55	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	74.3572
56	Isle of Man`IMN`Northern Europe	74.2043
57	Antigua and Barbuda`ATG`Caribbean	74.1873
58	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	74.1381
59	Cayman Islands`CYM`Caribbean	74.0800
60	Uruguay`URY`South America	74.0293
61	Sint Maarten`SXM`Caribbean	73.9001
62	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	73.6600
63	Brunei`BRN`South-eastern Asia	73.5840
64	Northern Mariana Islands`MNP`Micronesia	73.5727
65	Montenegro`MNE`Southern Europe	73.4418
66	Argentina`ARG`South America	73.4121
67	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	73.2005
68	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	73.1929
69	Turks and Caicos Islands`TCA`Caribbean	73.1126
70	Curaçao`CUW`Caribbean	73.0839
71	Aruba`ABW`Caribbean	72.9397
72	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	72.8817
73	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	72.8465
74	Montserrat`MSR`Caribbean	72.8449
75	Panama`PAN`Central America	72.7846
76	Grenada`GRD`Caribbean	72.7622
77	New Caledonia`NCL`Melanesia	72.6766
78	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	72.5730
79	Venezuela`VEN`South America	72.4460
80	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	72.3854
81	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	72.2993
82	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	72.2829
83	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	72.0672
84	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	71.9574
85	Ecuador`ECU`South America	71.9493
86	Bahamas`BHS`Caribbean	71.8399
87	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	71.8025
88	Mexico`MEX`Central America	71.7924
89	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	71.6014
90	American Samoa`ASM`Polynesia	71.5421
91	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	71.5210
92	Dominica`DMA`Caribbean	71.3524
93	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	71.3303
94	United States Virgin Islands`VIR`Caribbean	71.2644
95	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	71.1697
96	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	71.1440
97	Seychelles`SYC`Eastern Africa	71.0920
98	Colombia`COL`South America	70.9236
99	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	70.9186
100	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	70.8944
101	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	70.8733
102	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	70.7029
103	Saint Lucia`LCA`Caribbean	70.6798
104	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	70.6567
105	Palestine`PSE`Western Asia	70.5642
106	Samoa`WSM`Polynesia	70.3077
107	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines`VCT`Caribbean	70.2629
108	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	70.2372
109	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	70.1342
110	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	70.0054
111	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	69.8918
112	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	69.8754
113	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	69.8404
114	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	69.7869
115	Paraguay`PRY`South America	69.5075
116	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	69.3271
117	Cook Islands`COK`Polynesia	69.3244
118	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	69.3030
119	Tonga`TON`Polynesia	69.2244
120	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	69.2136
121	Belize`BLZ`Central America	68.9063
122	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	68.8508
123	Brazil`BRA`South America	68.8482
124	Peru`PER`South America	68.7240
125	Kosovo`XKX`Southern Europe	68.5798
126	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	68.3722
127	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	68.3306
128	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	68.2715
129	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	67.9929
130	Saint Kitts and Nevis`KNA`Caribbean	67.8906
131	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	67.2122
132	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	66.9160
133	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	66.8904
134	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	66.8403
135	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	66.7144
136	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	66.6548
137	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	66.6355
138	Niue`NIU`Polynesia	66.5763
139	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	66.5364
140	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	66.0078
141	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	65.9688
142	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	65.9416
143	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	65.1686
144	Greenland`GRL`Northern America	64.6589
145	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	64.5788
146	Micronesia`FSM`Micronesia	64.5091
147	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	64.4049
148	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	64.1109
149	Kiribati`KIR`Micronesia	64.1000
150	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	63.9664
151	Palau`PLW`Micronesia	63.9507
152	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	63.7498
153	Suriname`SUR`South America	63.7060
154	Guyana`GUY`South America	63.4292
155	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	63.3490
156	Marshall Islands`MHL`Micronesia	63.2175
157	Tuvalu`TUV`Polynesia	63.1619
158	Honduras`HND`Central America	62.4316
159	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	62.4037
160	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	62.1208
161	India`IND`Southern Asia	61.8525
162	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	61.7878
163	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	61.5322
164	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	61.5060
165	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	61.3225
166	Bolivia`BOL`South America	61.2274
167	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	61.1338
168	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	60.8870
169	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	60.7851
170	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	60.4348
171	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	60.4291
172	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	59.9124
173	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	59.8960
174	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	59.8896
175	Nauru`NRU`Micronesia	59.8600
176	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	58.3082
177	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	58.3008
178	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	57.8595
179	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	57.5489
180	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	57.5245
181	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	57.1373
182	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	57.0764
183	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	56.8028
184	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	56.4263
185	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	56.1545
186	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	56.0074
187	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	55.5681
188	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	54.7672
189	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	53.9630
190	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	53.0433
191	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	52.9685
192	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	52.6464
193	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	52.5509
194	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	52.4870
195	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	52.0287
196	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	51.8074
197	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	51.6099
198	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	51.2200
199	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	50.7552
200	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	50.1629
201	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	50.0657
202	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	49.9968
203	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	49.7854
204	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	49.6637
205	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	49.5919
206	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	49.3671
207	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	48.5826
208	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	48.2634
209	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	48.2121
210	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	48.1231
211	Niger`NER`Western Africa	47.8066
212	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	47.8024
213	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	47.5508
214	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	47.0892
215	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	46.6781
216	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	46.1479
217	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	45.7095
218	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	45.4515
219	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	44.2995
220	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	43.0985
221	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	42.7144
222	South Sudan`SSD`Eastern Africa	19.0479

02In 1998

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

1Monaco81.6054
2Andorra81.2803
3Japan80.6487
4Hong Kong80.0723
5San Marino79.9176

Lowest

222South Sudan19.0479
221Sierra Leone42.7144
220Rwanda43.0985
219Malawi44.2995
218Angola45.4515

A higher value is the better result. The middle country reads 69.8836. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

031997 → 1998

Since 1997

What changed between 1997 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

Montserrat63.2197 → 72.8449+9.6252
Republic of the Congo48.5746 → 52.5509+3.9763
Cook Islands66.3964 → 69.3244+2.9280
Rwanda41.9785 → 43.0985+1.1200
United Arab Emirates72.5589 → 73.6600+1.1011

Fell most

South Sudan33.0682 → 19.0479−14.0203
Eritrea56.1551 → 49.9968−6.1583
Honduras67.5418 → 62.4316−5.1102
Lesotho53.7334 → 52.0287−1.7047
Eswatini51.6985 → 50.0657−1.6328

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-1998-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 (1998). Life Expectancy at Birth, 1998 [data set], describing 1998. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/life-expectancy/1998

0674 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Life Expectancy at Birth, 1997
222 countries
The year after ›
Life Expectancy at Birth, 1999
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