How long will I live?

Three different questions people call “life expectancy”

Period life expectancy at birth summarizes the death rates observed in one calendar year. It asks how long a hypothetical newborn would live if those same age-specific mortality rates applied throughout that newborn's life. The World Bank's country series used on this site is this kind of measure.

Cohort life expectancy follows people born in the same year and accounts for mortality changing as they age. A complete cohort estimate needs assumptions about future mortality; it cannot be derived from one year's birth average alone.

Remaining life expectancy at age x starts with people who have already reached age x and estimates their average additional years under a life table. This is why subtracting someone's age from life expectancy at birth does not correctly calculate their remaining years: it ignores that they have already survived earlier ages.

What the Expectra comparison does

Choose a country and sex to see the World Bank's 2023 period life expectancy at birth, then enter a birth year to compare the resulting approximate age with that benchmark. The gap is arithmetic only. It is not a death-age prediction, cohort projection, or estimate of years remaining.

For example, if a population's at-birth average were 78 years and the entered birth year implied an age of 46, the displayed gap would be 32 years. That does not mean a 46-year-old has 32 years left; a proper remaining-life estimate would need a life table conditioned on surviving to 46.

Birth year also omits month and day, so the current-age comparison is approximate. Country-level averages conceal wide differences within populations and cannot account for personal health, living conditions, or future changes in mortality.

Where the figures come from

The calculator requests the 2023 female and male life-expectancy-at-birth series from the World Bank's World Development Indicators: female (SP.DYN.LE00.FE.IN) and male (SP.DYN.LE00.MA.IN). The year is held constant across the table so country comparisons use the same reference period.

International datasets can differ from national life tables because they may harmonize inputs and use different estimates or revisions. For a personal or policy decision, consult the relevant national statistics office or a qualified actuary or health professional.