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Indicator

Life Expectancy by African country

2024

Life expectancy at birth, in years.

Africa, 202454 of 54 countries
64.4population-weighted average
Highest in 2024Tunisia · 76.7Lowest in 2024Nigeria · 54.6Reported in 202454 of 54 countries surveyed
Click a country to pin it — pinned countries are named on the map. Hatching means no record.
Western Sahara — no separate recordTanzania — 67.2Democratic Republic of the Congo — 62.1Somalia — 59.0Kenya — 63.8Sudan — 66.5Chad — 55.2South Africa — 66.3Lesotho — 57.8Zimbabwe — 63.1Botswana — 69.3Namibia — 67.5Senegal — 68.9Mali — 60.7Mauritania — 68.7Benin — 61.0Niger — 61.4Nigeria — 54.6Cameroon — 64.0Togo — 62.9Ghana — 65.7Cote d'Ivoire — 62.1Guinea — 60.9Guinea-Bissau — 64.3Liberia — 62.3Sierra Leone — 62.0Burkina Faso — 61.3Central African Republic — 57.7Republic of the Congo — 66.0Gabon — 68.5Equatorial Guinea — 63.9Zambia — 66.5Malawi — 67.6Mozambique — 63.8Eswatini — 64.3Angola — 64.8Burundi — 63.8Madagascar — 63.8Gambia — 66.1Tunisia — 76.7Algeria — 76.5Eritrea — 68.9Morocco — 75.5Egypt — 71.8Libya — 71.1Ethiopia — 67.6Djibouti — 66.2Uganda — 68.5Rwanda — 68.0South Sudan — 57.7Nigeria 54.6Nigeria 54.6Ethiopia 67.6Ethiopia 67.6Kenya 63.8Kenya 63.8South Africa 66.3South Africa 66.32024HIGHEST IN 2024Tunisia76.7Algeria76.5Seychellesnot drawn76.3Cabo Verdenot drawn76.2Morocco75.5LOWEST IN 2024Nigeria54.6Chad55.2Central African Republic57.7South Sudan57.7Lesotho57.8PINNEDEthiopia67.617 of 54Kenya63.835 of 54South Africa66.324 of 54OTHER ISLAND STATES · NOT DRAWNComorosnot drawn67.0Mauritiusnot drawn73.8Sao Tome and Principenot drawn69.9years · quintiles of the observed range54.661.463.966.568.976.7no record
20142024
World Bank · national statistics offices · the provider's own estimates where a country has not reportedCC BY 4.0
Countries

By region

Population-weighted, so a region’s figure is the share of its people, not the average of its countries.
Northern Africa6 of 6 countries72.3
Southern Africa5 of 5 countries66.2
Eastern Africa18 of 18 countries65.9
Middle Africa9 of 9 countries62.3
Western Africa16 of 16 countries58.7
Africaall 54 countries · 54 with a 2024 figure64.4

What to know before you quote this

Specific to this series. For how we treat data generally, see methods.
Certainty is judged year by yearA country can be Reported in one year and Modelled the next. The tag follows the year on the scrubber, so the 2024 assessment is not a verdict on the whole series.

About this data

Life ExpectancyLife expectancy at birth, in years.
SourceWorld Bank, with processing by Africa API
Unityears
Last updated15 Oct 2026
Next expected updateOct 2027
Date range1960–2024
Coverage54 of 54 countries · 54 reported, 0 modelled, 0 with no usable figure

How the figure is made

ReportedA national statistics office or the original provider published the figure for that year directly. 54 countries did so for 2024 — the certainty shown on this page is that 2024 assessment, not a per-series one.ModelledNo direct figure that year. The provider’s own estimate, interpolation or projection stands in, and is marked as such wherever it appears.No dataNo usable figure within the window. Drawn hatched on the map and left blank in the table — not zero, and not filled in.

These three states are used the same way across every indicator on the site — how we treat certainty explains the full set and what we never do to a number.

Reuse and cite

Everything on this page is open under CC BY 4.0 — use it anywhere, including commercially, as long as Africa API and the original provider are credited. The provider’s own licence still applies to their data.

How to cite this page
Africa API (2026) — "Life Expectancy". Data adapted from World Bank. Retrieved 18 Oct 2026 from africa-api.com/indicators/life-expectancy
The request behind this view
GET /v1/data?metric_key=life_expectancy_years&year=2024&limit=100

Read next

The measures that explain this one.
DemographicsPopulationTotal mid-year population.DemographicsPopulation GrowthAnnual population growth rate.DemographicsMedian AgeMedian age of the population, in years.

Life Expectancy: most recent figure per country, highest to lowest

54 countries · each with its own period

The figures at the top of the page compare every country in the same year. This list takes each country’s newest figure instead, whatever its period, so the order can differ.

#CountryLife ExpectancyPeriod
1Tunisia76.7 years2024
2Algeria76.5 years2024
3Seychelles76.3 years2024
4Cabo Verde76.2 years2024
5Morocco75.5 years2024
6Mauritius73.8 years2024
7Egypt71.8 years2024
8Libya71.1 years2024
9Sao Tome and Principe69.9 years2024
10Botswana69.3 years2024
11Senegal68.9 years2024
12Eritrea68.9 years2024
13Mauritania68.7 years2024
14Gabon68.5 years2024
15Uganda68.5 years2024
16Rwanda68 years2024
17Ethiopia67.6 years2024
18Malawi67.6 years2024
19Namibia67.5 years2024
20Tanzania67.2 years2024
21Comoros67 years2024
22Zambia66.5 years2024
23Sudan66.5 years2024
24South Africa66.3 years2024
25Djibouti66.2 years2024
26Gambia66.1 years2024
27Republic of the Congo66 years2024
28Ghana65.7 years2024
29Angola64.8 years2024
30Eswatini64.3 years2024
31Guinea-Bissau64.3 years2024
32Cameroon64 years2024
33Equatorial Guinea63.9 years2024
34Madagascar63.8 years2024
35Kenya63.8 years2024
36Burundi63.8 years2024
37Mozambique63.8 years2024
38Zimbabwe63.1 years2024
39Togo62.9 years2024
40Liberia62.3 years2024
41Cote d'Ivoire62.1 years2024
42Democratic Republic of the Congo62.1 years2024
43Sierra Leone62 years2024
44Niger61.4 years2024
45Burkina Faso61.3 years2024
46Benin61 years2024
47Guinea60.9 years2024
48Mali60.7 years2024
49Somalia59 years2024
50Lesotho57.8 years2024
51South Sudan57.7 years2024
52Central African Republic57.7 years2024
53Chad55.2 years2024
54Nigeria54.6 years2024
Which observations are included?
The ranking includes 54 of 54 countries with available observations for 2023 or later and within 2 years of the freshest result. Each figure shows its reporting period. Countries without an eligible observation are omitted.
Does a higher value mean a better result?
The ranking is sorted by value, from highest to lowest. The order does not rate a country's performance. Interpretation depends on the indicator and its definition.

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