Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) | Life expectancy at birth, total (years)
Life expectancy at birth indicates the number of years a newborn infant would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the same throughout its life. Development relevance: Mortality rates for different age groups (infants, children, and adults) and overall mortality indicators (life expectancy at birth or survival to a given age) are important indicators of health status in a country. Because data on the incidence and prevalence of diseases are frequently unavailable, mortality rates are often used to identify vulnerable populations. And they are among the indicators most frequently used to compare socioeconomic development across countries. Limitations and exceptions: Annual data series from United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects are interpolated data from 5-year period data. Therefore they may not reflect real events as much as observed data. Statistical concept and methodology: Life expectancy at birth used here is the average number of years a newborn is expected to live if mortality patterns at the time of its birth remain constant in the future. It reflects the overall mortality level of a population, and summarizes the mortality pattern that prevails across all age groups in a given year. It is calculated in a period life table which provides a snapshot of a population's mortality pattern at a given time. It therefore does not reflect the mortality pattern that a person actually experiences during his/her life, which can be calculated in a cohort life table. High mortality in young age groups significantly lowers the life expectancy at birth. But if a person survives his/her childhood of high mortality, he/she may live much longer. For example, in a population with a life expectancy at birth of 50, there may be few people dying at age 50. The life expectancy at birth may be low due to the high childhood mortality so that once a person survives his/her childhood, he/she may live much longer than 50 years.
Publisher
The World Bank
Origin
Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)
Records
63
Source
Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) | Life expectancy at birth, total (years)
1960 41.42254578
1961 41.73973936
1962 42.20072058
1963 42.44062026
1964 42.89083773
1965 43.02945129
1966 42.98409005
1967 43.23217833
1968 43.67073478
1969 43.91130717
1970 44.36983024
1971 44.87080397
1972 44.98734366
1973 45.70879536
1974 45.92046166
1975 46.3064327
1976 46.9849522
1977 47.44780321
1978 47.74858696
1979 48.21002891
1980 48.57245576
1981 48.93781946
1982 49.17604168
1983 48.33214819
1984 48.36180775
1985 48.61274753
1986 49.00706987
1987 49.33812158
1988 49.02019768
1989 49.88486949
1990 49.82430763
1991 49.69963103
1992 49.47216067
1993 49.69693252
1994 50.00215988
1995 50.11417407
1996 50.04852833
1997 50.21533671
1998 49.92778687
1999 50.64083818
2000 51.2645448
2001 51.53632183
2002 51.89134244
2003 52.36952152
2004 52.84880712
2005 53.46219505
2006 54.21330107
2007 54.84902854
2008 55.45071261
2009 56.21961307
2010 56.84736569
2011 57.55861069
2012 58.14101325
2013 58.668043
2014 59.1426582
2015 59.5629817
2016 60.06902467
2017 60.47713846
2018 60.86302754
2019 61.24429052
2020 60.84889442
2021 60.24174346
2022
Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries) | Life expectancy at birth, total (years)
Life expectancy at birth indicates the number of years a newborn infant would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the same throughout its life. Development relevance: Mortality rates for different age groups (infants, children, and adults) and overall mortality indicators (life expectancy at birth or survival to a given age) are important indicators of health status in a country. Because data on the incidence and prevalence of diseases are frequently unavailable, mortality rates are often used to identify vulnerable populations. And they are among the indicators most frequently used to compare socioeconomic development across countries. Limitations and exceptions: Annual data series from United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects are interpolated data from 5-year period data. Therefore they may not reflect real events as much as observed data. Statistical concept and methodology: Life expectancy at birth used here is the average number of years a newborn is expected to live if mortality patterns at the time of its birth remain constant in the future. It reflects the overall mortality level of a population, and summarizes the mortality pattern that prevails across all age groups in a given year. It is calculated in a period life table which provides a snapshot of a population's mortality pattern at a given time. It therefore does not reflect the mortality pattern that a person actually experiences during his/her life, which can be calculated in a cohort life table. High mortality in young age groups significantly lowers the life expectancy at birth. But if a person survives his/her childhood of high mortality, he/she may live much longer. For example, in a population with a life expectancy at birth of 50, there may be few people dying at age 50. The life expectancy at birth may be low due to the high childhood mortality so that once a person survives his/her childhood, he/she may live much longer than 50 years.
Publisher
The World Bank
Origin
Sub-Saharan Africa (IDA & IBRD countries)
Records
63
Source