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June 15, 2026 Charted: How the World Added Decades to Life Expectancy

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Key Takeaways

Life expectancy has increased across every major income group since 1960.

Upper-middle income countries recorded the largest gains, adding more than 34 years to average lifespan.

The gap between high-income and low-income countries has narrowed from roughly 27 years to 16 years.

The average person today can expect to live far longer than someone born in 1960, regardless of where they live.

This chart tracks life expectancy at birth across four World Bank income groups. While high-income countries still have the longest lifespans, the biggest gains have come elsewhere. Upper-middle income countries have added more than three decades to life expectancy, while low-income countries have made substantial progress as well.

The data for this visualization comes from World Bank via FRED. It tracks life expectancy at birth by income group from 1960 to the latest available data (2024).

High-Income Countries Still Lead

High-income countries still have the highest life expectancy, reaching 80.3 years in 2024.

That is up from 68.3 years in 1960, a gain of 12 years. These countries started from a much higher baseline, meaning their gains have been slower but still substantial.

Examples include the U.S., Germany, and Japan.

YearHigh IncomeUpper-MiddleLower-MiddleLow Income

Examples	US, Germany, Japan	China, Brazil, Mexico	India, Egypt, Philippines	Afghanistan, Niger, Chad
1960	68.3	41.9	45.8	41.6
1965	69.4	53.7	46.8	43.2
1970	70.2	57.3	49	45.3
1975	71.3	60.7	51.5	47.1
1980	72.3	63.4	54.3	48.7
1985	73.4	65.7	56.5	48.9
1990	74.4	67.3	58.3	51.2
1995	74.7	69.1	59.8	52
2000	76	70.7	61.7	54.1
2005	77.1	72.2	63.6	57.1
2010	78.5	73.8	65.5	59.9
2015	79.5	75.1	67.3	60.9
2020	79.2	75.2	68	62.8
2024	80.3	76.3	69.8	64.7

Upper-Middle Income Countries Saw the Fastest Gains

Upper-middle income countries posted the largest increase, rising from 41.9 years in 1960 to 76.3 years.

That is a gain of 34.4 years, the fastest improvement of any group in the dataset. This category includes countries such as China, Brazil, Mexico, and South Africa.

Much of this improvement coincided with rising incomes, better sanitation, expanded vaccination programs, lower child mortality, and broader access to healthcare. Together, these changes helped push life expectancy in many middle-income countries toward levels once seen only in the world’s wealthiest economies.

The Global Life Expectancy Gap Has Narrowed

In 1960, people in high-income countries lived about 27 years longer than those in low-income countries.

Today, the gap stands at roughly 16 years. While a significant difference remains, low-income countries have added more than 23 years to average life expectancy since 1960. In other words, much of the world’s longevity progress has come from countries that started furthest behind.

However, the remaining gap shows that income, healthcare access, and living conditions continue to shape longevity worldwide.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

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