Data for 2008

Life Expectancy at Birth, 2008

Name: Life Expectancy at Birth, 2008
Creator: UN DESA Population Division
License: https://population.un.org/wpp/downloads

Figures for 2008, as UN DESA Population Division published them · stored as published, never rewritten

Life Expectancy at Birth, 2008 covers 222 countries. Andorra is highest, at 83.855; Lesotho is lowest, at 44.304. The middle country reads 72.264. Against 2007, 222 values changed (208 up, 14 down), the same countries are covered.

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Life Expectancy at Birth · Data for 2008

HighestAndorra

83.855

LowestLesotho

44.304

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

222countries
1measure
2008the 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, 2008, 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, 2008: every country, as published by UN DESA Population Division.
derived
1	Andorra`AND`Southern Europe	83.855
2	Monaco`MCO`Western Europe	83.827
3	San Marino`SMR`Southern Europe	82.894
4	Japan`JPN`Eastern Asia	82.633
5	Hong Kong`HKG`Eastern Asia	82.340
6	Switzerland`CHE`Western Europe	81.971
7	Liechtenstein`LIE`Western Europe	81.855
8	Italy`ITA`Southern Europe	81.645
9	United Arab Emirates`ARE`Western Asia	81.592
10	Gibraltar`GIB`Southern Europe	81.541
11	Australia`AUS`Australia and New Zealand	81.427
12	Vatican City`VAT`Southern Europe	81.373
13	Israel`ISR`Western Asia	81.283
14	Spain`ESP`Southern Europe	81.278
15	Iceland`ISL`Northern Europe	81.244
16	Macau`MAC`Eastern Asia	81.162
17	Sweden`SWE`Northern Europe	81.137
18	Singapore`SGP`South-eastern Asia	81.099
19	France`FRA`Western Europe	81.039
20	Canada`CAN`Northern America	80.730
21	Norway`NOR`Northern Europe	80.677
22	French Polynesia`PYF`Polynesia	80.587
23	Netherlands`NLD`Western Europe	80.387
24	Austria`AUT`Western Europe	80.363
25	New Zealand`NZL`Australia and New Zealand	80.246
26	Luxembourg`LUX`Western Europe	80.107
27	Greece`GRC`Southern Europe	80.105
28	South Korea`KOR`Eastern Asia	79.996
29	Cyprus`CYP`Western Asia	79.906
30	Germany`DEU`Western Europe	79.816
31	Ireland`IRL`Northern Europe	79.788
32	Finland`FIN`Northern Europe	79.695
33	Malta`MLT`Southern Europe	79.690
34	United Kingdom`GBR`Northern Europe	79.655
35	Portugal`PRT`Southern Europe	79.603
36	Belgium`BEL`Western Europe	79.579
37	Costa Rica`CRI`Central America	79.180
38	Bermuda`BMU`Northern America	79.101
39	Isle of Man`IMN`Northern Europe	78.899
40	Chile`CHL`South America	78.752
41	Denmark`DNK`Northern Europe	78.714
42	Slovenia`SVN`Southern Europe	78.595
43	Faroe Islands`FRO`Northern Europe	78.518
44	Saint Martin`MAF`Caribbean	78.326
45	Taiwan`TWN`Eastern Asia	78.298
46	Qatar`QAT`Western Asia	78.262
47	Albania`ALB`Southern Europe	78.248
48	United States`USA`Northern America	78.127
49	Puerto Rico`PRI`Caribbean	78.111
50	Northern Mariana Islands`MNP`Micronesia	77.938
51	Cuba`CUB`Caribbean	77.589
52	Bahrain`BHR`Western Asia	77.457
53	Czechia`CZE`Eastern Europe	77.172
54	Lebanon`LBN`Western Asia	76.956
55	Anguilla`AIA`Caribbean	76.902
56	Kuwait`KWT`Western Asia	76.890
57	Bosnia and Herzegovina`BIH`Southern Europe	76.301
58	Uruguay`URY`South America	76.275
59	Guam`GUM`Micronesia	76.233
60	Oman`OMN`Western Asia	76.124
61	Turks and Caicos Islands`TCA`Caribbean	76.084
62	Antigua and Barbuda`ATG`Caribbean	76.075
63	British Virgin Islands`VGB`Caribbean	76.070
64	Croatia`HRV`Southern Europe	76.001
65	Maldives`MDV`Southern Asia	75.999
66	Panama`PAN`Central America	75.937
67	Poland`POL`Eastern Europe	75.583
68	Argentina`ARG`South America	75.428
69	New Caledonia`NCL`Melanesia	75.398
70	Cayman Islands`CYM`Caribbean	75.386
71	Saudi Arabia`SAU`Western Asia	75.301
72	Barbados`BRB`Caribbean	75.300
73	Malaysia`MYS`South-eastern Asia	75.151
74	Montenegro`MNE`Southern Europe	75.001
75	Slovakia`SVK`Eastern Europe	74.864
76	Sint Maarten`SXM`Caribbean	74.852
77	China`CHN`Eastern Asia	74.833
78	Brunei`BRN`South-eastern Asia	74.814
79	Kosovo`XKX`Southern Europe	74.711
80	Ecuador`ECU`South America	74.709
81	Montserrat`MSR`Caribbean	74.533
82	North Macedonia`MKD`Southern Europe	74.436
83	Türkiye`TUR`Western Asia	74.380
84	Grenada`GRD`Caribbean	74.375
85	Curaçao`CUW`Caribbean	74.314
86	Estonia`EST`Northern Europe	74.279
87	Thailand`THA`South-eastern Asia	74.221
88	Colombia`COL`South America	74.206
89	Tunisia`TUN`Northern Africa	74.192
90	Hungary`HUN`Eastern Europe	73.957
91	Serbia`SRB`Southern Europe	73.904
92	Aruba`ABW`Caribbean	73.783
93	Mexico`MEX`Central America	73.695
94	Iran`IRN`Southern Asia	73.684
95	Algeria`DZA`Northern Africa	73.618
96	Jordan`JOR`Western Asia	73.563
97	Vietnam`VNM`South-eastern Asia	73.455
98	Bahamas`BHS`Caribbean	73.445
99	Syria`SYR`Western Asia	73.368
100	Bulgaria`BGR`Eastern Europe	73.339
101	Romania`ROU`Eastern Europe	73.216
102	Mauritius`MUS`Eastern Africa	73.124
103	Brazil`BRA`South America	73.111
104	Saint Lucia`LCA`Caribbean	72.964
105	Peru`PER`South America	72.743
106	United States Virgin Islands`VIR`Caribbean	72.658
107	Venezuela`VEN`South America	72.578
108	Sri Lanka`LKA`Southern Asia	72.556
109	Armenia`ARM`Western Asia	72.519
110	American Samoa`ASM`Polynesia	72.430
111	Seychelles`SYC`Eastern Africa	72.323
112	Palestine`PSE`Western Asia	72.205
113	Cook Islands`COK`Polynesia	72.120
114	Paraguay`PRY`South America	72.048
115	Latvia`LVA`Northern Europe	71.999
116	Dominica`DMA`Caribbean	71.945
117	Libya`LBY`Northern Africa	71.936
118	Cabo Verde`CPV`Western Africa	71.888
119	Lithuania`LTU`Northern Europe	71.696
120	Samoa`WSM`Polynesia	71.531
121	Jamaica`JAM`Caribbean	71.502
122	Saint Kitts and Nevis`KNA`Caribbean	71.479
123	Nicaragua`NIC`Central America	71.404
124	Dominican Republic`DOM`Caribbean	71.331
125	Trinidad and Tobago`TTO`Caribbean	71.117
126	Tonga`TON`Polynesia	71.041
127	Georgia`GEO`Western Asia	70.949
128	Belize`BLZ`Central America	70.665
129	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines`VCT`Caribbean	70.611
130	Belarus`BLR`Eastern Europe	70.349
131	El Salvador`SLV`Central America	70.138
132	Morocco`MAR`Northern Africa	70.051
133	Honduras`HND`Central America	69.657
134	Guatemala`GTM`Central America	69.493
135	Azerbaijan`AZE`Western Asia	69.355
136	North Korea`PRK`Eastern Asia	69.303
137	Vanuatu`VUT`Melanesia	69.302
138	Uzbekistan`UZB`Central Asia	69.035
139	Moldova`MDA`Eastern Europe	69.000
140	Suriname`SUR`South America	68.873
141	Egypt`EGY`Northern Africa	68.761
142	Philippines`PHL`South-eastern Asia	68.643
143	Greenland`GRL`Northern America	68.400
144	Solomon Islands`SLB`Melanesia	68.336
145	Ukraine`UKR`Eastern Europe	68.262
146	Indonesia`IDN`South-eastern Asia	68.085
147	Tajikistan`TJK`Central Asia	67.924
148	Russia`RUS`Eastern Europe	67.862
149	Bhutan`BTN`Southern Asia	67.733
150	Turkmenistan`TKM`Central Asia	67.584
151	Palau`PLW`Micronesia	67.562
152	Niue`NIU`Polynesia	67.250
153	Mongolia`MNG`Eastern Asia	67.086
154	Bangladesh`BGD`Southern Asia	67.047
155	Kazakhstan`KAZ`Central Asia	66.759
156	Kyrgyzstan`KGZ`Central Asia	66.616
157	Yemen`YEM`Western Asia	66.609
158	Iraq`IRQ`Western Asia	66.465
159	Nepal`NPL`Southern Asia	66.443
160	Fiji`FJI`Melanesia	66.320
161	India`IND`Southern Asia	66.247
162	Cambodia`KHM`South-eastern Asia	66.147
163	Kiribati`KIR`Micronesia	65.746
164	Guyana`GUY`South America	65.721
165	Bolivia`BOL`South America	65.299
166	Mauritania`MRT`Western Africa	65.233
167	Micronesia`FSM`Micronesia	64.849
168	Tuvalu`TUV`Polynesia	64.516
169	Marshall Islands`MHL`Micronesia	64.300
170	Gabon`GAB`Middle Africa	64.011
171	Pakistan`PAK`Southern Asia	64.002
172	São Tomé and Príncipe`STP`Middle Africa	63.448
173	Senegal`SEN`Western Africa	63.201
174	Timor-Leste`TLS`South-eastern Asia	62.858
175	Papua New Guinea`PNG`Melanesia	62.511
176	Eritrea`ERI`Eastern Africa	62.422
177	Laos`LAO`South-eastern Asia	62.248
178	Madagascar`MDG`Eastern Africa	61.992
179	Comoros`COM`Eastern Africa	61.955
180	Haiti`HTI`Caribbean	61.280
181	Sudan`SDN`Northern Africa	61.261
182	Republic of the Congo`COG`Middle Africa	60.790
183	Rwanda`RWA`Eastern Africa	60.641
184	Ghana`GHA`Western Africa	60.579
185	Gambia`GMB`Western Africa	60.473
186	Kenya`KEN`Eastern Africa	59.955
187	Tanzania`TZA`Eastern Africa	59.896
188	Djibouti`DJI`Eastern Africa	59.815
189	Afghanistan`AFG`Southern Asia	59.708
190	Nauru`NRU`Micronesia	59.675
191	Liberia`LBR`Western Africa	58.675
192	Uganda`UGA`Eastern Africa	58.253
193	Benin`BEN`Western Africa	58.099
194	Ethiopia`ETH`Eastern Africa	57.733
195	Botswana`BWA`Southern Africa	57.661
196	Equatorial Guinea`GNQ`Middle Africa	57.384
197	Togo`TGO`Western Africa	56.663
198	Myanmar`MMR`South-eastern Asia	56.364
199	South Sudan`SSD`Eastern Africa	56.280
200	Cameroon`CMR`Middle Africa	56.116
201	South Africa`ZAF`Southern Africa	55.982
202	Niger`NER`Western Africa	55.852
203	Malawi`MWI`Eastern Africa	55.715
204	Guinea`GIN`Western Africa	55.703
205	Burundi`BDI`Eastern Africa	55.581
206	DR Congo`COD`Middle Africa	55.388
207	Guinea-Bissau`GNB`Western Africa	55.300
208	Angola`AGO`Middle Africa	55.281
209	Burkina Faso`BFA`Western Africa	55.199
210	Mali`MLI`Western Africa	55.187
211	Zambia`ZMB`Eastern Africa	54.835
212	Namibia`NAM`Southern Africa	54.740
213	Côte d’Ivoire`CIV`Western Africa	54.179
214	Mozambique`MOZ`Eastern Africa	53.799
215	Somalia`SOM`Eastern Africa	51.456
216	Nigeria`NGA`Western Africa	50.748
217	Sierra Leone`SLE`Western Africa	50.693
218	Central African Republic`CAF`Middle Africa	49.873
219	Chad`TCD`Middle Africa	49.503
220	Zimbabwe`ZWE`Eastern Africa	48.456
221	Eswatini`SWZ`Southern Africa	45.853
222	Lesotho`LSO`Southern Africa	44.304

02In 2008

At either end

The 5 countries at each end of the headline.

Highest

1Andorra83.855
2Monaco83.827
3San Marino82.894
4Japan82.633
5Hong Kong82.340

Lowest

222Lesotho44.304
221Eswatini45.853
220Zimbabwe48.456
219Chad49.503
218Central African Republic49.873

A higher value is the better result. The middle country reads 72.264. “Shared” marks a value another country also holds.

032007 → 2008

Since 2007

What changed between 2007 and this one: who joined or left, and how far the headline moved.

+0 / −0countries joined / left
222values changed, of 222 in both
208 · 14rose · fell
0unchanged

Rose most

Iraq64.428 → 66.465+2.037
Latvia70.789 → 71.999+1.210
Ethiopia56.567 → 57.733+1.166
Rwanda59.504 → 60.641+1.137
Estonia73.153 → 74.279+1.125

Fell most

Myanmar62.367 → 56.364−6.003
Venezuela73.348 → 72.578−0.770
Sri Lanka72.983 → 72.556−0.427
Turks and Caicos Islands76.427 → 76.084−0.343
Sudan61.442 → 61.261−0.181

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-2008-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 (2008). Life Expectancy at Birth, 2008 [data set], describing 2008. As held by Nations Inquiry, https://nationsinquiry.com/datasets/life-expectancy/2008

0674 held

Other years

‹ The year before
Life Expectancy at Birth, 2007
222 countries
The year after ›
Life Expectancy at Birth, 2009
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