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Ranked: Countries With the Biggest Change in Life Expectancy
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Key Takeaways
- In the Maldives, a country south of India, life expectancy has doubled since 1965 to reach 82 years.
- Similarly, life expectancy in Afghanistan, Oman, and Bhutan have nearly doubled, sitting among the largest absolute gains in life expectancy worldwide.
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.