Which Countries Have the Lowest Life Expectancy in the World?

Life expectancy is one of the clearest indicators of a population’s overall health and stability. It reflects living conditions, access to nutrition, safety, education, and the systems that support people from birth through old age.

While many countries around the world now enjoy average lifespans well into their 80s, others continue to struggle with life expectancies that fall decades shorter. In some parts of the world, the average person may not live past their late 50s or early 60s.

Understanding which countries have the lowest life expectancy, and why, helps us initiate global health efforts and better understand what truly supports long, healthy lives.

What Life Expectancy Can Tell Us About a Nation

Life expectancy at birth represents an average projection of how long someone born today might live if current mortality trends remain unchanged. Rather than forecasting individual outcomes, it serves as a broad indicator of how well a country’s systems protect health from infancy through older adulthood.

When life expectancy is low, it often points to systemic challenges, such as elevated infant and maternal death rates, persistent infectious disease, chronic undernutrition, gaps in medical access, unsafe water supplies, or ongoing social and political instability. These pressures rarely exist in isolation and tend to compound over time.

Shorter life expectancy is not primarily driven by personal health choices. It reflects long-standing structural barriers that restrict access to essential resources and care long before individual behaviors have much opportunity to influence outcomes.

The Countries With the Lowest Life Expectancy

Globally, the countries with the lowest life expectancy are largely concentrated in parts of sub-Saharan Africa and regions affected by prolonged conflict or economic instability. While rankings can shift slightly depending on the year and data source, the same countries frequently appear at the bottom.

1. Central African Republic

The Central African Republic often ranks among the lowest in global life expectancy, with averages hovering in the mid-50s. Decades of political instability, armed conflict, and limited infrastructure have severely constrained access to healthcare and basic services.

Preventable diseases remain common, maternal and infant mortality rates are high, and food insecurity affects large portions of the population. These challenges compound over time, limiting gains in longevity despite global health efforts.

2. Chad

Chad consistently reports one of the shortest average lifespans in the world. Limited healthcare access, high rates of infectious disease, unsafe drinking water, and malnutrition all contribute to a life expectancy that remains well below the global average.

Rural populations face particular challenges, as medical facilities are often distant or under-resourced. Without early intervention, treatable conditions frequently become life-threatening.

3. Lesotho

Lesotho stands out as a country with low life expectancy despite not being affected by war on the same scale as others. The primary driver has been the long-term impact of HIV/AIDS, combined with poverty and limited healthcare capacity.

Although significant progress has been made in treatment access, the effects of decades-long disease burden continue to influence national longevity statistics.

4. Nigeria and South Sudan

In countries like Nigeria and South Sudan, large populations face a combination of healthcare access gaps, malnutrition, unsafe water, and ongoing conflict in certain regions. These factors raise mortality risk across all ages, particularly among infants and young adults.

Life expectancy in these nations often falls below 60 years, reflecting systemic challenges rather than isolated health behaviors.

Why Life Expectancy Is Low in These Countries

When comparing countries with the lowest life expectancy, several overlapping patterns emerge. 

Healthcare Access

Healthcare access is often limited or inconsistent. Many people lack routine preventive care, skilled birth assistance, vaccinations, or treatment for chronic and infectious diseases. Even when care exists, cost, distance, or shortages of trained professionals may put it out of reach.

Nutrition

Nutrition plays a major role. Chronic undernutrition increases vulnerability to disease and raises mortality risk across all ages. Food insecurity affects survival and long-term development and resilience.

Environmental Factors

Environmental factors also matter. Unsafe water and sanitation contribute to preventable illnesses, while exposure to pollutants or hazardous working conditions further shortens lifespan.

Instability 

Political instability and economic hardship magnify these risks. Conflict disrupts healthcare systems, education, food supply chains, and infrastructure, setting back life expectancy for generations.

How These Countries Compare to the Longest-Living Nations

The contrast between the lowest- and highest-life-expectancy countries is stark. While some nations struggle to reach an average lifespan of 60 years, others routinely exceed 80.

Countries such as Japan, Switzerland, Singapore, Spain, and Italy benefit from decades of investment in healthcare systems, education, public health infrastructure, and social stability. Preventive care is widely available, chronic disease is managed early, and daily life supports long-term health rather than undermining it.

The difference between these groups is not genetic. It reflects access, environment, policy, and opportunity. Where people live often determines whether they survive childhood, receive timely medical care, and age with dignity.

Blue Zones and the Other End of the Spectrum

Many of the world’s longest-living countries are home to regions known as Blue Zones, areas where people live significantly longer than average and experience lower rates of chronic disease.

Places like Okinawa in Japan or Sardinia in Italy show what is possible when nutrition, movement, social connection, and purpose are deeply embedded into daily life. These regions highlight the idea that longevity emerges not from isolated interventions, but from environments that support health consistently over time.

For countries struggling with low life expectancy, Blue Zones serve as a reminder that longevity is built and that systemic improvements can yield profound results.

Can Life Expectancy Improve in Low-Ranking Countries?

History suggests that life expectancy can improve. Over the past century, many countries have dramatically increased life expectancy through relatively simple interventions.

Improvements in clean water, sanitation, vaccination programs, maternal care, and access to basic medical services have historically added decades to the average lifespan. Education, particularly for women and girls, has also been one of the most powerful drivers of better health outcomes.

Even modest investments in preventive care and nutrition can significantly reduce mortality when resources are directed effectively.

Lifespan vs. Healthspan in a Global Context

While low-life-expectancy countries face urgent survival challenges, high-life-expectancy countries increasingly face a different issue: how well people age.

Extending lifespan without improving healthspan can lead to longer periods of chronic illness and disability. The most successful global health strategies aim to improve both, reducing early mortality while also supporting healthier aging later in life.

This dual focus highlights the importance of not just living longer, but living better.

What Individuals Can Learn From Global Longevity Gaps

Even in high-income countries, life expectancy is not guaranteed. Rising rates of metabolic and cardiovascular disease threaten long-term health worldwide. The global contrast teaches us that health is cumulative. Small disadvantages compound over time, just as small protective factors do.

Daily habits, access to preventive care, nutrition, and stress management all influence how the body ages, regardless of geography.

The Role of Cellular Health in Longevity

At the most fundamental level, aging occurs within our cells. Specifically, researchers have identified 12 events in our cells that cause them to age, known as the 12 hallmarks of aging. Over time, cellular membranes lose integrity, energy production becomes less efficient, and inflammation increases. These changes contribute to chronic disease and declining resilience.

Supporting cellular health has emerged as an important pillar of healthy aging, which complements lifestyle, environment, and healthcare access. Nutrition plays a central role, particularly nutrients that support cell membrane stability and metabolic balance. 

One such nutrient that improves our cellular health is C15:0 or pentadecanoic acid. C15:0 is an essential fatty acid that plays an important role in slowing the aging process and has even been dubbed “the longevity nutrient.”* 

Understanding C15:0

C15:0 was discovered as a beneficial and essential nutrient by a team of doctors at the US Navy who were studying healthy aging and longevity in the Navy’s dolphins. They observed that populations of dolphins with high C15:0 levels had fewer occurrences of age-related illness than those without high C15:0 levels. 

Fast forward 10 years, and there are now over 100 peer-reviewed publications and over 60 patents supporting the long-term benefits of C15:0 to humans. C15:0 works by integrating into cells to strengthen, support, and repair them. Specifically, C15:0 helps strengthen cells by 80%, improves mitochondrial function, and targets 6 out of 12 of the hallmarks of aging.* 

In addition, studies show it helps manage LDL cholesterol and supports liver enzymes, two factors that are important to metabolic health. Having enough C15:0 in your body is foundational to protecting not just longevity, but healthspan. In fact, if you don’t have enough C15:0, you could be deficient.*

Cellular Fragility Syndrome

Cellular Fragility Syndrome may be impacting as many people as 1 in 3 globally. Low levels of C15:0 (considered less than 0.2% of a person’s total fatty acid count) can result in fragile cells that accelerate aging and increase a person’s risk of developing chronic metabolic, heart, and liver conditions. 

Unfortunately, C15:0 can be tricky to get from your diet alone. It’s found in trace amounts in full-fat dairy products like whole milk and full-fat butter. Increasing your intake of these foods would net you some C15:0 benefits, but it would also increase your intake of calories and “bad,” pro-inflammatory even-chain saturated fats. One option to get the good fats without the bad is to add a supplement to your diet.

Fatty15

Fatty15 is the first and only supplement that contains the pure, vegan-friendly, patented, and award winning version of C15:0 called FA15. Just one capsule per day gives you the C15:0 you need, and nothing you don’t. It’s the easy way to elevate your C15:0 levels and protect your metabolic, red blood cell, liver and long-term health.* 

The Path Forward for Global Life Expectancy

Reducing global life expectancy gaps will require sustained investment in healthcare infrastructure, nutrition, education, and stability. History shows that progress is possible, and improvements often come faster than expected when basic needs are met.

At the same time, high-income countries must focus on protecting healthspan as populations age, ensuring that longer lives are also healthier ones. The global picture tells us that longevity is shaped by choices made at every level, from governments to communities to individuals.

FAQs

What country has the lowest life expectancy?

Nigeria generally has the lowest life expectancy, around 54.6 years, closely followed by Chad (55.2 years) and the Central African Republic (57.7 years).

What race lives the longest?

In the U.S., Asian Americans generally have the longest life expectancy, followed by Hispanic/Latino, White, Black, and American Indian/Alaska Native (AIAN) populations, with significant variations in data years, but Asians consistently leading.

How does the US rank for life expectancy?

The U.S. ranks relatively low in global life expectancy, often placing in the bottom half among high-income nations, around 30th in OECD countries, due to higher mortality from chronic diseases and external causes, despite spending more on healthcare.

What country is #1 in life expectancy?

Monaco consistently ranks #1 for life expectancy, with residents living around 86-89 years, followed closely by other wealthy microstates and East Asian territories like Hong Kong, San Marino, Japan, and Singapore, which benefit from excellent healthcare, nutrition, and lifestyle factors. 

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

Sources:

Life Expectancy by Country and in the World (2025) | Worldometer

Ten Facts About Life Expectancy in the Central African Republic | The Borgen Project

Health | UNICEF Chad

Lesotho|World Heatlh Organization

Hallmarks of aging: An expanding universe | PubMed

Efficacy of dietary odd-chain saturated fatty acid pentadecanoic acid parallels broad associated health benefits in humans: could it be essential? | Scientific Reports

A review of odd-chain fatty acid metabolism and the role of pentadecanoic Acid (c15:0) and heptadecanoic Acid (c17:0) in health and disease | PubMed

Effect of an Asian-adapted Mediterranean diet and pentadecanoic acid on fatty liver disease: the TANGO randomized controlled trial | ScienceDirect

Pentadecanoic Acid (C15:0), an Essential Fatty Acid, Shares Clinically Relevant Cell-Based Activities with Leading Longevity-Enhancing Compounds

The Cellular Stability Hypothesis: Evidence of Ferroptosis and Accelerated Aging-Associated Diseases as Newly Identified Nutritional Pentadecanoic Acid (C15:0) Deficiency Syndrome