Ranked: Countries With the Most Years in Poor Health

Ranked: Countries With the Most Years in Poor Health

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Many people are living longer—but not necessarily healthier—lives.

This visualization ranks countries by the number of years their citizens can expect to live in poor health, calculated as the gap between average life expectancy and health-adjusted life expectancy.

Skip to the second-last section for a full explanation of what health-adjusted life expectancy (HALE) is, and why it matters.

HALE data (for the year 2021) is sourced from the World Bank, via Our World in Data. Average life expectancy is from 2025 estimates UN World Population Prospects.

Together they reveal how disease, disability, and chronic conditions shape the quality—not just the quantity—of our lives.

Important information:
1. Poor health is defined as having a disabling illness or injury.
2. Life expectancy figures are for both sexes, measured at birth.
3. HALE data only updates every five years and 2021 is the most recent release.
4. While the comparison isn’t perfect, shows broader regional patterns in healthcare.
5. Due to missing data some countries may not be present in this ranking.

The Difference Between Living Longer and Living Healthier

Oil wealth appears genuinely toxic to health outcomes.

Nearly every Middle Eastern petrostate (Bahrain, Oman, Qatar, UAE, Kuwait) appears in this worst-performers list.

Bahrain (17.4 years), Oman (17.3), Qatar (16.5), and the UAE (15.9) all post sizable gaps despite having robust health-care budgets.

Rank	Country	Region	Years in Poor Health	HALE, 2021	Average Life Expectancy, 2025
1	Bahrain	Asia	17.4	64.2	81.6
2	Oman	Asia	17.3	63.2	80.5
3	Eswatini	Africa	16.9	47.5	64.4
4	Qatar	Asia	16.5	66.2	82.7
5	Botswana	Africa	16.3	53.1	69.4
6	Afghanistan	Asia	16.1	50.4	66.5
7	UAE	Asia	15.9	67.3	83.2
8	U.S.	Northern America	15.7	63.9	79.6
9	Peru	Southern America	15.1	63.0	78.1
10	Lebanon	Asia	14.9	63.2	78.1
11	Namibia	Africa	14.9	52.8	67.7
12	Maldives	Asia	14.8	66.7	81.5
13	Brazil	Southern America	14.4	61.8	76.2
14	India	Asia	14.4	58.1	72.5
15	Mozambique	Africa	14.3	49.7	64.0
16	Iran	Asia	14.1	64.0	78.1
17	North Macedonia	Europe	14.0	63.7	77.7
18	Mexico	Americas	14.0	61.4	75.4
19	Micronesia	Oceania	13.9	57.9	71.8
20	Chile	Southern America	13.8	67.7	81.5
21	Cuba	Americas	13.8	64.6	78.4
22	Eritrea	Africa	13.8	55.4	69.2
23	Slovakia	Europe	13.8	64.9	78.7
24	South Africa	Africa	13.7	52.8	66.5
25	Zambia	Africa	13.7	53.0	66.7
26	Greece	Europe	13.6	68.6	82.2
27	Guatemala	Americas	13.6	59.3	72.9
28	Bulgaria	Europe	13.6	62.4	76.0
29	Suriname	Southern America	13.6	60.3	73.9
30	Australia	Oceania	13.6	70.6	84.2
31	Guyana	Southern America	13.6	56.8	70.4
32	Lesotho	Africa	13.6	44.6	58.2
33	Costa Rica	Americas	13.6	67.6	81.2
34	Saudi Arabia	Asia	13.6	65.6	79.2
35	France	Europe	13.5	70.1	83.6
36	Uruguay	Southern America	13.5	65.0	78.5
37	Poland	Europe	13.5	65.5	79.0
38	Ecuador	Southern America	13.5	64.3	77.8
39	Czechia	Europe	13.4	66.7	80.1
40	Italy	Europe	13.4	70.6	84.0
41	Solomon Islands	Oceania	13.4	57.4	70.8
42	Bahamas	Americas	13.4	61.5	74.9
43	Morocco	Africa	13.4	62.3	75.7
44	Ukraine	Europe	13.3	61.6	74.9
45	Tunisia	Africa	13.3	63.6	76.9
46	Albania	Europe	13.3	66.7	80.0
47	Puerto Rico	Americas	13.3	68.8	82.1
48	Panama	Americas	13.3	66.7	80.0
49	Serbia	Europe	13.2	63.9	77.1
50	Paraguay	Southern America	13.2	60.9	74.1
51	Bosnia and Herzegovina	Europe	13.2	65.0	78.2
52	Portugal	Europe	13.2	69.5	82.7
53	Honduras	Americas	13.2	60.0	73.2
54	Kazakhstan	Asia	13.1	61.6	74.7
55	Yemen	Asia	13.1	56.5	69.6
56	Vanuatu	Oceania	13.1	58.7	71.8
57	Canada	Northern America	13.1	69.8	82.9
58	Colombia	Southern America	13.1	65.0	78.1
59	Malaysia	Asia	13.1	63.9	77.0
60	Switzerland	Europe	13.1	71.1	84.2
61	Kiribati	Oceania	13.1	53.6	66.7
62	Jordan	Asia	13.0	65.1	78.1
63	Malawi	Africa	13.0	54.7	67.7
64	Kuwait	Asia	13.0	67.8	80.8
65	UK	Europe	13.0	68.6	81.6

The lifestyle changes that come with sudden wealth, like sedentary living, processed foods, air conditioning replacing physical activity, seem to create a specific pattern of prolonged morbidity.

The U.S. makes the top 10 as well, the only G7 economy to do. Americans are projected to spend 15.7 of 79.6 expected years in poor health.

Also worth noting is the average life expectancy at birth for all of these aforementioned countries is fairly high. Which means these countries are good at keeping people alive with advanced medical technology.

But they may be failing at keeping them healthy, as if they’ve optimized for extending life rather than living well.

Related: Qatar and the U.S. also make the list of countries with the highest obesity rates.

Life Expectancies in Low-Income Countries

Several sub-Saharan African nations, including Eswatini, Botswana, and Namibia, also record gaps above 14 years.

Unlike the richer Gulf countries, they face this burden alongside much shorter life expectancies, meaning fewer total healthy years.

Latin American countries such as Peru and Brazil post similar gaps, reflecting both higher infant mortalities and higher disease burdens.

These patterns highlight a central challenge for global health: boosting not only how long people live, but how long they live well.

What is HALE (Health-Adjusted Life Expectancy)?

HALE measures how many years a person can expect to live in good health, defined as free from disabling illness or injury.

HALE matters because it fundamentally reframes what we mean by a “successful” life and healthcare system.

Traditional life expectancy tells us how long people live, but HALE tells us how long they live well.

Those “unhealthy years” are extraordinarily expensive. The U.S. healthcare system’s poor HALE performance means they’re essentially running a massive, costly life-support operation for millions of people.

Countries with better HALE ratios spend less on healthcare while achieving better outcomes because they’re preventing problems rather than managing chronic decline.

The U.S. has the highest per capita health spending amongst similar high-income countries, with the lowest average life expectancy.

Learn More on the Voronoi App

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• Source: https://www.visualcapitalist.com/ranked-countries-with-the-most-years-in-poor-health/