UNDP ranks the U.S. 26ths in term of life expectancy at birth

Posted on by James Love

As the U.S. considers health reform legislation, it is useful to review how countries rank in terms of life expectancy at birth.

From the 2009 UNDP Human Development Report statistical appendix:


















































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































































Rank Country Years
1 Japan 82.7
2 Hong Kong, China (SAR) 82.2
3 Iceland 81.7
4 Switzerland 81.7
5 Australia 81.4
6 Italy 81.1
7 France 81.0
8 Sweden 80.8
9 Spain 80.7
10 Israel 80.7
11 Canada 80.6
12 Norway 80.5
13 Singapore 80.2
14 New Zealand 80.1
15 Austria 79.9
16 Netherlands 79.8
17 Germany 79.8
18 Ireland 79.7
19 Cyprus 79.6
20 Malta 79.6
21 Finland 79.5
22 Belgium 79.5
23 Luxembourg 79.4
24 United Kingdom 79.3
25 Korea (Republic of) 79.2
26 United States 79.1
27 Greece 79.1
28 Costa Rica 78.7
29 Portugal 78.6
30 Chile 78.5
31 Cuba 78.5
32 Denmark 78.2
33 Slovenia 78.2
34 Kuwait 77.5
35 United Arab Emirates 77.3
36 Brunei Darussalam 77.0
37 Barbados 77.0
38 Albania 76.5
39 Czech Republic 76.4
40 Uruguay 76.1
41 Croatia 76.0
42 Mexico 76.0
43 Belize 76.0
44 Bahrain 75.6
45 Qatar 75.5
46 Poland 75.5
47 Oman 75.5
48 Panama 75.5
49 Grenada 75.3
50 Argentina 75.2
51 Bosnia and Herzegovina 75.1
52 Ecuador 75.0
53 Slovakia 74.6
54 Viet Nam 74.3
55 Malaysia 74.1
56 Macedonia (the Former Yugoslav Rep. of) 74.1
57 Syrian Arab Republic 74.1
58 Montenegro 74.0
59 Sri Lanka 74.0
60 Serbia 73.9
61 Libyan Arab Jamahiriya 73.8
62 Tunisia 73.8
63 Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) 73.6
64 Saint Lucia 73.6
65 Armenia 73.6
66 Hungary 73.3
67 Occupied Palestinian Territories 73.3
68 Bahamas 73.2
69 Bulgaria 73.1
70 Peru 73.0
71 Estonia 72.9
72 China 72.9
73 Saudi Arabia 72.7
74 Colombia 72.7
75 Nicaragua 72.7
76 Romania 72.5
77 Dominican Republic 72.4
78 Jordan 72.4
79 Latvia 72.3
80 Brazil 72.2
81 Algeria 72.2
82 Mauritius 72.1
83 Honduras 72.0
84 Lebanon 71.9
85 Lithuania 71.8
86 Turkey 71.7
87 Tonga 71.7
88 Jamaica 71.7
89 Paraguay 71.7
90 Georgia 71.6
91 Philippines 71.6
92 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 71.4
93 Samoa 71.4
94 El Salvador 71.3
95 Iran (Islamic Republic of) 71.2
96 Maldives 71.1
97 Cape Verde 71.1
98 Morocco 71.0
99 Indonesia 70.5
100 Guatemala 70.1
101 Azerbaijan 70.0
102 Egypt 69.9
103 Vanuatu 69.9
104 Trinidad and Tobago 69.2
105 Belarus 69.0
106 Suriname 68.8
107 Thailand 68.7
108 Fiji 68.7
109 Micronesia (Federated States of) 68.4
110 Moldova 68.3
111 Ukraine 68.2
112 Iraq 67.8
113 Uzbekistan 67.6
114 Kyrgyzstan 67.6
115 Korea (Democratic People’s Rep. of) 67.1
116 Guyana 66.5
117 Tajikistan 66.4
118 Nepal 66.3
119 Russian Federation 66.2
120 Mongolia 66.2
121 Pakistan 66.2
122 Solomon Islands 65.8
123 Bhutan 65.7
124 Bangladesh 65.7
125 Bolivia 65.4
126 Sao Tome and Principe 65.4
127 Kazakhstan 64.9
128 Comoros 64.9
129 Turkmenistan 64.6
130 Lao People’s Democratic Republic 64.6
131 India 63.4
132 Yemen 62.5
133 Togo 62.2
134 Myanmar 61.2
135 Haiti 61.0
136 Benin 61.0
137 Papua New Guinea 60.7
138 Timor-Leste 60.7
139 Cambodia 60.6
140 Namibia 60.4
141 Gabon 60.1
142 Madagascar 59.9
143 Eritrea 59.2
144 Sudan 57.9
145 Liberia 57.9
146 Guinea 57.3
147 Côte d’Ivoire 56.8
148 Mauritania 56.6
149 Ghana 56.5
150 Gambia 55.7
151 Senegal 55.4
152 Djibouti 55.1
153 Tanzania (United Republic of) 55.0
154 Ethiopia 54.7
155 Kenya 53.6
156 Congo 53.5
157 Botswana 53.4
158 Burkina Faso 52.7
159 Malawi 52.4
160 Uganda 51.9
161 South Africa 51.5
162 Cameroon 50.9
163 Niger 50.8
164 Burundi 50.1
165 Equatorial Guinea 49.9
166 Rwanda 49.7
167 Somalia 49.7
168 Chad 48.6
169 Mali 48.1
170 Mozambique 47.8
171 Nigeria 47.7
172 Congo (Democratic Republic of the) 47.6
173 Guinea-Bissau 47.5
174 Sierra Leone 47.3
175 Central African Republic 46.7
176 Angola 46.5
177 Swaziland 45.3
178 Lesotho 44.9
179 Zambia 44.5
180 Afghanistan 43.6
181 Zimbabwe 43.4
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