Life Expectancy in Africa (2026)
Life Expectancy in Africa ranks African countries and territories by average expected lifespan. The data highlights major differences across the continent, from higher life expectancy in places like Reunion and Tunisia to much lower levels in parts of Sub-Saharan Africa. Explore the latest Africa life expectancy rankings, regional map, and country-by-country data.
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Life Expectancy in Africa Rankings
| # | Country | Life Expectancy (Both Sexes) | Global Rank | Continent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇷🇪Reunion |
83.92 | 15 | Africa |
| 2 | 🇸🇭Saint Helena |
77.3 | 97 | Africa |
| 3 | 🇹🇳Tunisia |
77.1 | 100 | Africa |
| 4 | 🇩🇿Algeria |
76.89 | 102 | Africa |
| 5 | 🇾🇹Mayotte |
76.61 | 108 | Africa |
| 6 | 🇨🇻Cape Verde |
76.56 | 109 | Africa |
| 7 | 🇲🇦Morocco |
75.86 | 116 | Africa |
| 8 | 🇲🇺Mauritius |
75.44 | 122 | Africa |
| 9 | 🇱🇾Libya |
75.18 | 124 | Africa |
| 10 | 🇸🇨Seychelles |
73.28 | 143 | Africa |
| 11 | 🇪🇬Egypt |
72.16 | 155 | Africa |
| 12 | 🇪🇭Western Sahara |
71.98 | 159 | Africa |
| 13 | 🇸🇹Sao Tome and Principe |
70.26 | 172 | Africa |
| 14 | 🇧🇼Botswana |
69.57 | 177 | Africa |
| 15 | 🇪🇷Eritrea |
69.4 | 178 | Africa |
| 16 | 🇸🇳Senegal |
69.39 | 179 | Africa |
| 17 | 🇲🇷Mauritania |
69.16 | 180 | Africa |
| 18 | 🇺🇬Uganda |
68.92 | 182 | Africa |
| 19 | 🇬🇦Gabon |
68.88 | 183 | Africa |
| 20 | 🇷🇼Rwanda |
68.47 | 184 | Africa |
| 21 | 🇪🇹Ethiopia |
68.15 | 186 | Africa |
| 22 | 🇲🇼Malawi |
67.92 | 188 | Africa |
| 23 | 🇳🇦Namibia |
67.81 | 189 | Africa |
| 24 | 🇹🇿Tanzania |
67.63 | 192 | Africa |
| 25 | 🇰🇲Comoros |
67.48 | 195 | Africa |
| 26 | 🇸🇩Sudan |
66.89 | 197 | Africa |
| 27 | 🇿🇲Zambia |
66.88 | 198 | Africa |
| 28 | 🇿🇦South Africa |
66.66 | 201 | Africa |
| 29 | 🇩🇯Djibouti |
66.61 | 202 | Africa |
| 30 | 🇬🇲Gambia |
66.45 | 204 | Africa |
| 31 | 🇨🇬Congo |
66.42 | 205 | Africa |
| 32 | 🇬🇭Ghana |
66.08 | 206 | Africa |
| 33 | 🇦🇴Angola |
65.17 | 208 | Africa |
| 34 | 🇬🇼Guinea-Bissau |
64.59 | 209 | Africa |
| 35 | 🇸🇿Eswatini |
64.54 | 210 | Africa |
| 36 | 🇨🇲Cameroon |
64.51 | 211 | Africa |
| 37 | 🇬🇶Equatorial Guinea |
64.3 | 212 | Africa |
| 38 | 🇲🇬Madagascar |
64.25 | 213 | Africa |
| 39 | 🇰🇪Kenya |
64.19 | 214 | Africa |
| 40 | 🇲🇿Mozambique |
64.14 | 215 | Africa |
| 41 | 🇧🇮Burundi |
64.14 | 216 | Africa |
| 42 | 🇿🇼Zimbabwe |
63.63 | 217 | Africa |
| 43 | 🇹🇬Togo |
63.33 | 218 | Africa |
| 44 | 🇱🇷Liberia |
62.62 | 219 | Africa |
| 45 | 🇨🇮Ivory Coast |
62.44 | 221 | Africa |
| 46 | 🇨🇩DR Congo |
62.39 | 222 | Africa |
| 47 | 🇸🇱Sierra Leone |
62.33 | 223 | Africa |
| 48 | 🇳🇪Niger |
61.88 | 224 | Africa |
| 49 | 🇧🇫Burkina Faso |
61.65 | 225 | Africa |
| 50 | 🇧🇯Benin |
61.32 | 226 | Africa |
| 51 | 🇬🇳Guinea |
61.23 | 227 | Africa |
| 52 | 🇲🇱Mali |
61.11 | 228 | Africa |
| 53 | 🇸🇴Somalia |
59.26 | 229 | Africa |
| 54 | 🇱🇸Lesotho |
58.63 | 230 | Africa |
| 55 | 🇨🇫Central African Republic |
58.15 | 231 | Africa |
| 56 | 🇸🇸South Sudan |
57.97 | 232 | Africa |
| 57 | 🇹🇩Chad |
55.58 | 233 | Africa |
| 58 | 🇳🇬Nigeria |
54.95 | 234 | Africa |
Key Findings
Countries with Highest Life Expectancy in Africa
- Reunion (83.92) ranks first in Africa, followed by Saint Helena (77.30), Tunisia (77.10), Algeria (76.89), and Mayotte (76.61).
- The highest life expectancy levels in Africa are mostly found in island territories and North African countries with relatively stronger healthcare systems, better living conditions, and lower mortality rates.
Countries with Lowest Life Expectancy in Africa
- The lowest life expectancy levels in Africa are found in Nigeria (54.95), Chad (55.58), South Sudan (57.97), and the Central African Republic (58.15).
- Lower life expectancy in these countries is often linked to poverty, infectious disease, conflict, malnutrition, weak healthcare access, and limited public health infrastructure.
North Africa Performs Better Than Much of Sub-Saharan Africa
- Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Libya, and Egypt all rank relatively high within Africa compared with many countries south of the Sahara.
- These countries generally benefit from stronger healthcare access, higher urbanization, and better public health outcomes than much of lower-ranked Sub-Saharan Africa.
Africa Has the Widest Longevity Gap
- Africa’s life expectancy ranges from 83.92 years in Reunion to 54.95 years in Nigeria.
- This gap of nearly 29 years highlights the continent’s major inequalities in healthcare quality, maternal and child survival, sanitation, disease burden, and living standards.
Island Territories and Small States Often Rank Higher
- Several island territories and smaller African states, including Reunion, Saint Helena, Mayotte, Cape Verde, Mauritius, and Seychelles, rank above much of mainland Africa.
- These places often combine smaller populations with stronger healthcare systems, better infrastructure, and higher average living standards.
About Life Expectancy in Africa
Life Expectancy in Africa compares how long people are expected to live across African countries and territories based on current mortality patterns. It reflects the combined impact of healthcare access, income levels, nutrition, sanitation, maternal and child health, disease burden, and political stability.
Africa has some of the lowest life expectancy levels in the world, but the continent is far from uniform. North African countries and certain island territories generally perform much better than many lower-ranked countries in Sub-Saharan Africa. These differences make life expectancy one of the clearest indicators of health inequality across the region.
The rankings help readers identify which African countries have the highest and lowest life expectancy and better understand how public health conditions vary across the continent.
Definitions & Methodology
What is life expectancy in Africa?
Life expectancy in Africa shows the average number of years people are expected to live in African countries and territories based on current mortality patterns.
How are the Africa rankings calculated?
Countries are ranked by Life Expectancy (Both Sexes), which represents the average expected lifespan at birth for the total population.
What does global rank mean?
Global rank shows where each African country or territory stands in the worldwide life expectancy ranking. For example, Reunion ranks first in Africa and 15th globally in this dataset.
What units are used?
All values are shown in years. A life expectancy value of 76.89 means the average expected lifespan is about 76.89 years.
Life Expectancy in Africa FAQs
Which country has the highest life expectancy in Africa?
Reunion has the highest life expectancy in Africa in 2026 at 83.92 years, followed by Saint Helena, Tunisia, Algeria, and Mayotte.
Which country has the lowest life expectancy in Africa?
Nigeria has the lowest life expectancy in Africa in this dataset at 54.95 years, followed by Chad, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic.
Why is life expectancy lower in many African countries?
Life expectancy is lower in many African countries because of poverty, limited healthcare access, infectious disease, malnutrition, maternal and child health challenges, and weaker public health infrastructure.
Which parts of Africa have higher life expectancy?
North African countries and several island territories, such as Tunisia, Algeria, Morocco, Reunion, Mayotte, Mauritius, and Seychelles, generally rank higher than much of Sub-Saharan Africa.
How is life expectancy in Africa measured?
Life expectancy in Africa is measured as the average number of years a newborn is expected to live if current age-specific mortality rates remain unchanged.