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Life expectancy at birth

The UK ranks 17th of 28 on Life expectancy at birth (2024)

The UK ranks 17th of 28 on Life expectancy at birth in 2024: 81.4, unit years, against an EU27 median of 82.0. Source: World Bank Indicators (WDI and WGI), SP.DYN.LE00.IN, snapshot of 6 November 2026.

Average years a newborn would live if current age-specific mortality rates held.

Caveat. 2020-21 mortality was raised by Covid-19 in most countries. Latest World Bank year is 2024; some countries lag.

The UK

Life expectancy at birth

81.4years(2024)

17th of 28Moved down 2 places from 2016 to 2024.
EU27 median
82.0 years
UK minus EU27 median
−0.6 years

League table

Values in years. Countries ranked by value, 1 = top of the table, 28 with a value.

Life expectancy at birth, 2024: league table of countries
1Sweden84.12024
2Italy84.02024
3Spain83.92024
4Luxembourg83.22024
5Ireland83.02024
6France83.02024
7Malta83.02024
8Portugal82.42024
9Finland82.32024
10Belgium82.32024
11Slovenia82.32024
12Denmark82.32024
13Austria82.02024
14Netherlands82.02024
15Greece81.82024
16Cyprus81.82024
17United KingdomUK81.42024
18Germany80.82024
19Czechia80.02024
20Estonia79.32024
21Croatia78.92024
22Poland78.42024
23Slovakia78.42024
24Lithuania77.22024
25Hungary76.72024
26Romania76.52024
27Latvia76.42024
28Bulgaria75.82024

Trend, 2000 to 2024

Life expectancy at birth, 2000 to 2024Line chart, 2000 to 2024: the UK (heavy ink line), the EU27 aggregate (dashed dark line), Germany, France, Italy and Spain (solid lines), and reference countries (faint lines). Dotted segments are IMF projections and are not ranked. Shaded bands and markers show events.years7880838520002005201020152020123Switzerland84Japan84Italy84Spain84Norway83Australia83France83Canada82EU2782United Kingdom81Germany81United States79Life expectancy at birth, 2000 to 2024Line chart, 2000 to 2024: the UK (heavy ink line), the EU27 aggregate (dashed dark line), Germany, France, Italy and Spain (solid lines), and reference countries (faint lines). Dotted segments are IMF projections and are not ranked. Shaded bands and markers show events.years78808385200020102020123SwitzerlandJapanItalySpainNorwayAustraliaFranceCanadaEU27United KingdomGermanyUnited States
  • Heavy ink line: United Kingdom
  • France
  • Germany
  • Italy
  • Spain
  • Dashed dark line: EU27 aggregate
  • Thin grey lines, reference countries (not the big four): Australia, Canada, Japan, Norway, Switzerland, United States
  • Shaded: 2008–09 financial crisis
  • Shaded: 2020–21 Covid-19 pandemic
  • Shaded: 2022–23 energy price shock
  • Marker 1: EU referendum (23 June 2016)
  • Marker 2: UK leaves the EU (31 January 2020)
  • Marker 3: Transition period ends; Trade and Cooperation Agreement in force (1 January 2021)
Trends show what happened, not why; Covid, energy prices and policy changes overlap the same years. Dotted lines are projections and are not ranked.

UK rank over time

Rank 1 is the top of the table; the line is drawn with rank 1 at the top. Each year is ranked on that year's values.

UK rank, 2000 to 2024: 12th to 17th8th12th15th18th20002005201020152020June 201617thUK rank, 2000 to 2024: 12th to 17th8th12th15th18th200020102020June 201617th

2000: 12th · 2024: 17th

Sources and method

Average years a newborn would live if current age-specific mortality rates held.

Source: World Bank Indicators (WDI and WGI) · series SP.DYN.LE00.IN· vintage 2026-10-08 · fetched 2026-11-06

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators / Worldwide Governance Indicators (CC BY 4.0); accessed 2026-11-06.

Licence: CC BY 4.0 (World Bank open data default); WGI and some datasets carry their own terms in the Data Catalog metadata. Reuse with credit allowed, including derived figures.