Life Expectancy in Africa by Country (2026)

This table ranks African countries by life expectancy at birth, the single most-cited summary measure of population health. Click a heading to re-sort. The unweighted average across the 54 countries is about 65 years, though it ranges widely by country.

Algeria reports the highest life expectancy in Africa and Central African Republic the lowest. Life expectancy tracks decades of investment in health systems, nutrition and basic services — read it alongside literacy and population.

#	Country	Life expectancy	Urbanization	Region
1	🇩🇿 Algeria	77.5 yrs	74%	North Africa
2	🇲🇦 Morocco	77.4 yrs	65%	North Africa
3	🇹🇳 Tunisia	77.4 yrs	70%	North Africa
4	🇲🇺 Mauritius	75.5 yrs	41%	East Africa
5	🇸🇨 Seychelles	74.9 yrs	58%	East Africa
6	🇨🇻 Cape Verde	73.6 yrs	68%	West Africa
7	🇱🇾 Libya	73.4 yrs	81%	North Africa
8	🇪🇬 Egypt	72.5 yrs	43%	North Africa
9	🇸🇹 São Tomé and Príncipe	71.0 yrs	76%	Central Africa
10	🇷🇼 Rwanda	70.0 yrs	18%	East Africa
11	🇪🇭 Western Sahara	70.0 yrs	87%	North Africa
12	🇧🇼 Botswana	69.9 yrs	72%	Southern Africa
13	🇸🇳 Senegal	68.9 yrs	49%	West Africa
14	🇩🇯 Djibouti	67.8 yrs	79%	East Africa
15	🇪🇹 Ethiopia	67.8 yrs	23%	East Africa
16	🇲🇬 Madagascar	67.8 yrs	40%	East Africa
17	🇪🇷 Eritrea	67.5 yrs	43%	East Africa
18	🇰🇪 Kenya	67.5 yrs	29%	East Africa
19	🇬🇦 Gabon	67.0 yrs	91%	Central Africa
20	🇹🇿 Tanzania	66.2 yrs	37%	East Africa
21	🇲🇼 Malawi	65.6 yrs	18%	Southern Africa
22	🇲🇷 Mauritania	65.6 yrs	56%	West Africa
23	🇨🇬 Republic of Congo	65.2 yrs	69%	Central Africa
24	🇰🇲 Comoros	65.0 yrs	30%	East Africa
25	🇱🇷 Liberia	65.0 yrs	53%	West Africa
26	🇬🇭 Ghana	64.9 yrs	59%	West Africa
27	🇿🇦 South Africa	64.9 yrs	68%	Southern Africa
28	🇿🇲 Zambia	64.7 yrs	46%	Southern Africa
29	🇳🇦 Namibia	64.5 yrs	54%	Southern Africa
30	🇺🇬 Uganda	64.4 yrs	26%	East Africa
31	🇳🇪 Niger	63.6 yrs	17%	West Africa
32	🇬🇲 Gambia	62.9 yrs	63%	West Africa
33	🇧🇯 Benin	62.8 yrs	50%	West Africa
34	🇧🇫 Burkina Faso	62.7 yrs	32%	West Africa
35	🇧🇮 Burundi	62.7 yrs	14%	East Africa
36	🇬🇳 Guinea	62.6 yrs	38%	West Africa
37	🇦🇴 Angola	62.2 yrs	68%	Southern Africa
38	🇿🇼 Zimbabwe	62.2 yrs	32%	Southern Africa
39	🇨🇩 Democratic Republic of Congo	61.6 yrs	47%	Central Africa
40	🇹🇬 Togo	61.6 yrs	44%	West Africa
41	🇲🇿 Mozambique	61.4 yrs	38%	Southern Africa
42	🇸🇿 Eswatini	60.7 yrs	25%	Southern Africa
43	🇲🇱 Mali	60.5 yrs	45%	West Africa
44	🇨🇲 Cameroon	60.3 yrs	59%	Central Africa
45	🇬🇶 Equatorial Guinea	59.8 yrs	74%	Central Africa
46	🇬🇼 Guinea-Bissau	59.7 yrs	45%	West Africa
47	🇨🇮 Côte d'Ivoire	58.8 yrs	53%	West Africa
48	🇸🇸 South Sudan	58.6 yrs	21%	East Africa
49	🇸🇴 Somalia	58.3 yrs	47%	East Africa
50	🇱🇸 Lesotho	56.0 yrs	30%	Southern Africa
51	🇸🇱 Sierra Leone	55.9 yrs	44%	West Africa
52	🇳🇬 Nigeria	55.8 yrs	54%	West Africa
53	🇹🇩 Chad	55.2 yrs	24%	Central Africa
54	🇨🇫 Central African Republic	54.4 yrs	43%	Central Africa

Life expectancy at birth summarises mortality across all ages into one figure; it is revised as new survey and census data arrive. The continental spread runs from about 54 to 78 years.

Frequently Asked Questions

Which African country has the highest life expectancy?

Algeria has the highest life expectancy in Africa at about 77.5 years, followed by Morocco and Tunisia.

What is the average life expectancy in Africa?

Life expectancy at birth averages roughly 65 years across the 54 African countries, up substantially over recent decades but still below the global average.

Which African country has the lowest life expectancy?

Central African Republic reports the lowest life expectancy among African countries, at about 54.4 years.

Why does life expectancy vary so much across Africa?

Differences reflect income, conflict, access to health care, disease burden and nutrition. Because it is an average across all ages, a single high-mortality factor can pull the whole figure down.

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Last reviewed: 9 June 2026. Figures are revised when source organisations publish new releases. Data: World Bank, IMF, UN.