Visual Capitalist January 7, 2026
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...
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