Ranked: Countries With the Biggest Change in Life Expectancy Since 1965

Ranked: Countries With the Biggest Change in Life Expectancy

See visuals like this from many other data creators on our Voronoi app. Download it for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.

Back in 1965, the average life expectancy globally was 54 years, and has since risen by about 20 years as of 2025.

Nearly every country has seen gains over this period, though a small group has far outpaced the global average, adding more than three decades to life expectancy. To put this in perspective, America has seen roughly a nine year increase in life expectancy over six decades.

This graphic shows which countries have gained the most in life expectancy since 1965, based on data from Our World in Data and the United Nations.

Where Change in Life Expectancy Accelerated the Most

Here are the countries with the biggest increases in period life expectancy, which indicates how long a newborn would live on average, given the death rates of that year.

Country	Life Expectancy at Birth 1965	Life Expectancy at Birth 2025	Change 1965-2025
Maldives	41	82	41
Oman	41	81	40
Bhutan	38	74	36
Algeria	43	77	34
Yemen	36	70	34
Timor-Leste	35	68	33
Afghanistan	35	67	32
Iran	46	78	32
Malawi	36	68	32
Saudi Arabia	48	80	32
Western Sahara	41	72	31
Bangladesh	46	76	30
Gambia	37	67	30
Morocco	46	76	30
Nepal	41	71	30
Eritrea	40	69	29
Guinea-Bissau	36	65	29
Indonesia	43	72	29
Mali	32	61	29
Senegal	40	69	29
South Sudan	29	58	29
Tunisia	48	77	29
Laos	42	70	28
South Korea	56	84	28
Angola	38	65	27
Cambodia	44	71	27
Ethiopia	41	68	27
India	46	73	27
United Arab Emirates	56	83	27
China	53	79	26

The Maldives leads globally, with average life expectancy increasing by 41 years since 1965 to reach 82 in 2025.

Like the Maldives, several countries in Asia have seen lifespans extend notably. In 1965, average life expectancy in Afghanistan was 35 years, and has now risen to 67. India, meanwhile, has seen average lifespans increase by 27 years amid growing economic expansion and advancements in healthcare.

When you look across Africa, Algeria has witnessed the strongest gain in life expectancy overall. In 2025, the average stands at 77 years—up from 43 in 1965— sitting among the highest in Africa. Going further, nine African countries have added at least 27 years to their life expectancy.

As we can see, China also ranks among the top countries by change in life expectancy, with a gain of 26 years since 1965. On average, this equaled a 22-week increase in life expectancy per year during a time of rapid economic transformation.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

To learn more about this topic, check out this graphic on the countries with the highest and lowest life expectancy in the world.

• Source: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/countries-with-the-biggest-change-in-life-expectancy/