Women outlive men in every single one of the world’s 234 countries and territories, illustrating a global and persistent trend. 

This pattern holds across diverse regions, from Monaco, where females average 88.85 years compared to males’ 84.76, to Nigeria, where women reach 55.3 years compared to men’s 54.6. 

For context, life expectancy is the average number of years a person is expected to live based on statistical data like birth year, sex, and location. It doesn’t mean everyone dies at that age.

The data, which is used to create the visualization above, comes from the latest UN Population Division estimates. It shows the life expectancy across the world. 

TL;DR 

• Women outlive men in every country, with differences ranging from four to eleven years and an average gap of about five to six years worldwide.
• The largest general life expectancy disparity is nearly 32 years (between Monaco, with a life expectancy of 86.73 years, and Nigeria, at 54.95 years).
• Wealthy small states and East Asian nations dominate higher life expectancy while the bottom 25 are all Sub-Saharan African countries. 

32-year Gap between Richest and Poorest nations

Monaco leads the world with women averaging 88.85 years and men 84.78 years, giving the tiny principality a combined life expectancy of 86.73 years. 

At the opposite extreme, Nigeria records the lowest figures. Here, women live up to 55.3 years and men to 54.6 years, for a national average of 54.95 years. 

Socioeconomic challenges, limited healthcare access, and ongoing conflicts contribute to these low figures.

This 31.78-year chasm between Monaco and Nigeria underscores the profound impact of wealth, healthcare access, nutrition, and conflict on human longevity.

Even when comparing the very top and very bottom, women outlive men in both nations.

Women Outlive Men Everywhere (4-11 years)

Women consistently outlive men in every country documented globally, a pattern observed across more than 195 nations and territories. 

This female longevity advantage varies from approximately 4 years in some high-income countries to as much as 11 years in certain low-income or conflict-affected regions. 

On average, the worldwide gap is about 5 to 6 years.

This trend persists even in the longest-lived countries like Monaco and Japan, as well as in nations with shorter life spans like Chad and Nigeria.

Tiny Wealthy States Dominate Top Rankings

The longest-lived populations are predominantly found in a select few small, affluent city-states and island nations. 

Hong Kong follows after Monaco closely at 85.9 years overall, while San Marino, Japan, and Liechtenstein round out the top five, all exceeding 84 years. 

These microstates and high-income economies share common advantages: 

1. World-class healthcare
2. High per capita income
3. Low crime
4. Excellent nutrition
5. Minimal exposure to large-scale conflict or poverty. 

U.S. Surprisingly Low

The United States ranks 62nd globally in overall life expectancy. 

American women live to an average of 82.23 years, while men live to an average of 77.39 years. These figures yield a combined figure of 79.76 years, placing the U.S. well behind dozens of smaller, less affluent nations.

Some of the countries ranking higher include not only Monaco, Japan, and Singapore but also Costa Rica, Chile, and Slovenia. 

All these nations have lower GDP per capita, yet longer average lifespans.

This gap reveals that national wealth alone does not guarantee top-tier longevity when preventable deaths and social disparities remain high. 

All Bottom 25 are Sub-Saharan African

Every one of the 25 countries with the lowest life expectancy in the world is in Sub-Saharan Africa. 

Apart from Nigeria, the countries of Chad, Lesotho, the Central African Republic, South Sudan, and Somalia also have average ages below 60 years. 

All of these nations fall into the bottom quarter globally, highlighting serious challenges in the region. 

East Asia excels despite not being the wealthiest

East Asia dominates the upper half of global life-expectancy rankings, even though only a few of its nations rank among the planet’s absolute richest. 

This trend highlights how factors beyond wealth influence longevity.

Japan, with 85.15 years; South Korea, with 85.9 years; Hong Kong, with 85.9 years; and Singapore, with 84.9 years, all sit comfortably in the global top 10 to 15.

These societies achieve exceptional longevity through strong public-health systems, universal or near-universal healthcare coverage, low obesity rates, high vegetable and fish consumption, active lifestyles, and low levels of gun violence or opioid crises.

ELI5

In all countries around the world, women live longer than men, with a gap of 4 to 11 years, and the average gap is 5 to 6 years across all countries. 

The biggest gap is about 32 years between Monaco, where people live up to 86.73 years, and Nigeria, where the average person lives up to 54.95 years. These countries are located on different continents and have different living conditions. 

However, smaller, richer countries and some East Asian countries top the list of countries with the longest life expectancies. For example, you can find them in the top 10 countries in this list. 

Despite this good ranking, at least 25 of the countries on this list are Sub-Saharan African. Regardless, the United States comes in 62nd on the list, a very low position. 

Source: 

UN Population Division