Countries With the Fastest Growth in Male life expectancy (5-Year Change)

Name: Countries With the Fastest Growth in Male life expectancy (5-Year Change)
Creator: The World Bank
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Change in Male life expectancy over the five years to each country's latest year, in points (a share or rate is not shown as a % of itself). Only countries that rose are listed. Source: The World Bank (CC BY 4.0).

Summary

Central African Republic rose the most: by 29.1, from 26.4 years to 55.5 years in the five years to 2024. Afghanistan is second (+4.79), followed by Eswatini (+4.21). 193 countries rose over that period; the median change among them was +0.9.

#1: Central African Republic · +29.1
Median: +0.9
Coverage: 193 countries
Data year: 2024
Last updated: 2026-11-14

Top 10: 5-year change (years). Bar chart of the top 10: 1. Central African Republic 29.1; 2. Afghanistan 4.79; 3. Eswatini 4.21; 4. Yemen, Rep. 4.03; 5. Zambia 3.75; 6. Namibia 3.68; 7. Kuwait 2.84; 8. Malawi 2.69; 9. Congo, Rep. 2.62; 10. Bahamas, The 2.44.

Full ranking

Countries With the Fastest Growth in Male life expectancy (5-Year Change), 2024
Rank	Country	From	To	5-year change (years)
1	Central African Republic	26.4	55.5	+29.1
2	Afghanistan	59.9	64.7	+4.79
3	Eswatini	57.1	61.3	+4.21
4	Yemen, Rep.	63.3	67.4	+4.03
5	Zambia	60.3	64.1	+3.75
6	Namibia	59.8	63.5	+3.68
7	Kuwait	81	83.8	+2.84
8	Malawi	61.6	64.3	+2.69
9	Congo, Rep.	61.7	64.3	+2.62
10	Bahamas, The	68.6	71.1	+2.44
11	Syrian Arab Republic	67.8	70.2	+2.38
12	Bangladesh	70.9	73.3	+2.37
13	Lesotho	52.7	55	+2.32
14	New Caledonia	74.2	76.5	+2.3
15	Seychelles	69.9	72.1	+2.2
16	Cameroon	59.6	61.8	+2.15
17	Uganda	63.5	65.5	+2.01
18	Botswana	64.8	66.8	+2.01
19	Armenia	73.1	75.1	+2
20	Mozambique	58.5	60.5	+1.97
21	Suriname	68.6	70.6	+1.96
22	Guinea-Bissau	59.9	61.8	+1.94
23	Sierra Leone	58.3	60.2	+1.93
24	Chad	51.4	53.4	+1.92
25	Togo	60.9	62.7	+1.81
26	Djibouti	62	63.7	+1.76
27	Côte d'Ivoire	58.5	60.2	+1.67
28	Angola	60.6	62.3	+1.67
29	Zimbabwe	58.8	60.5	+1.66
30	São Tomé and Principe	64.8	66.4	+1.63
31	Korea, Dem. People's Rep.	69.9	71.6	+1.61
32	Congo, Dem. Rep.	58.4	60	+1.6
33	Eritrea	65.2	66.8	+1.58
34	Ethiopia	62.8	64.4	+1.58
35	Nigeria	52.8	54.3	+1.56
36	Maldives	78.4	79.9	+1.56
37	Equatorial Guinea	60.7	62.2	+1.55
38	Mongolia	66.4	67.9	+1.54
39	Peru	74.1	75.6	+1.52
40	Cayman Islands	76.7	78.2	+1.52
41	Guinea	58.2	59.7	+1.5
42	Montenegro	74	75.5	+1.5
43	Samoa	68.5	70	+1.49
44	Azerbaijan	70.2	71.7	+1.49
45	Bermuda	77.6	79.1	+1.46
46	Nicaragua	71	72.5	+1.45
47	Burundi	60.3	61.8	+1.44
48	Gambia, The	62.9	64.4	+1.43
49	Timor-Leste	64.8	66.3	+1.42
50	India	69.3	70.7	+1.42
51	Lithuania	71.6	73	+1.4
52	Naoero	59	60.4	+1.38
53	Niger	59.1	60.5	+1.36
54	Chile	78.1	79.5	+1.36
55	Panama	75.5	76.9	+1.35
56	Rwanda	64.4	65.7	+1.35
57	Tanzania	63.1	64.4	+1.26
58	Colombia	73.9	75.2	+1.25
59	Somalia, Fed. Rep.	55.2	56.5	+1.25
60	Bahrain	79.6	80.9	+1.24
61	Lao PDR	65.8	67	+1.24
62	Comoros	63.8	65	+1.22
63	Nepal	67.9	69.1	+1.22
64	Mali	58	59.3	+1.21
65	Belize	69.9	71.1	+1.21
66	Virgin Islands (US)	76.4	77.6	+1.2
67	Iraq	69.3	70.5	+1.17
68	Guatemala	69.3	70.4	+1.16
69	Senegal	65.9	67	+1.15
70	Bhutan	70.4	71.6	+1.14
71	Moldova	65.6	66.7	+1.12
72	Northern Mariana Islands	76.2	77.3	+1.11
73	Sweden	81.5	82.6	+1.1
74	Guyana	65.5	66.6	+1.1
75	Tunisia	73	74.1	+1.09
76	Morocco	72.3	73.3	+1.09
77	Jordan	74.8	75.9	+1.09
78	Kazakhstan	69.2	70.3	+1.07
79	French Polynesia	80.9	81.9	+1.05
80	Tuvalu	62.9	63.9	+1.05
81	Sri Lanka	73.4	74.4	+1.02
82	Iran, Islamic Rep.	75	76	+1.02
83	Faroe Islands	80.3	81.3	+1
84	Portugal	78.7	79.7	+1
85	Slovenia	78.7	79.7	+1
86	Liberia	60	61	+0.998
87	Pakistan	64.5	65.5	+0.969
88	Tajikistan	68.7	69.7	+0.952
89	Kosovo	75.1	76	+0.944
90	Papua New Guinea	62.9	63.8	+0.936
91	Ghana	62.4	63.3	+0.927
92	Marshall Islands	64.1	65	+0.925
93	Cabo Verde	72.1	73.1	+0.923
94	Ukraine	68.9	69.8	+0.92
95	Gabon	65.1	66.1	+0.915
96	Malaysia	73.5	74.4	+0.909
97	Denmark	79.5	80.4	+0.9
98	Slovak Republic	74.3	75.2	+0.9
99	Croatia	75.2	76.1	+0.9
100	Romania	71.9	72.8	+0.9

Showing the top 100 of 193. Premium downloads the full list as CSV or JSON.

About the top 10

#1 Central African Republic

Central African Republic ranks #1 on this list with +29.1.

Capital: Bangui
Continent: Africa
Income group: Low income
Population: 5.51 million people (2025)
GDP: US$3.07 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$556.1 (2025)
Life expectancy: 57.7 years (2024)
Urban population: 44.6% of population (2025)

Also ranks #1 in population ages 0-14 share · #1 in age dependency ratio · #1 in age dependency ratio (young).

Full country profile

#2 Afghanistan

Afghanistan ranks #2 on this list with +4.79.

Capital: Kabul
Continent: Asia
Income group: Low income
Population: 43.84 million people (2025)
GDP: US$17.78 billion (2024)
GDP per person: US$416.9 (2024)
Life expectancy: 66.3 years (2024)
Urban population: 25.9% of population (2025)

Largest cities: Kabul.

Also ranks #1 in refugee population by origin · #4 in health expenditure share of gdp · #6 in agriculture value added share of gdp.

Full country profile

#3 Eswatini

Eswatini ranks #3 on this list with +4.21.

Capital: Mbabane, Lobamba
Continent: Africa
Income group: Lower middle income
Population: 1.26 million people (2025)
GDP: US$5.16 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$4,108 (2025)
Life expectancy: 64.3 years (2024)
Urban population: 26.7% of population (2025)

Also ranks #1 in unemployment rate · #1 in hiv prevalence · #3 in youth unemployment rate.

Full country profile

#4 Yemen, Rep.

Yemen, Rep. ranks #4 on this list with +4.03.

Capital: Sanaa, Aden
Continent: Asia
Income group: Low income
Population: 41.77 million people (2025)
Life expectancy: 69.4 years (2024)
Urban population: 37% of population (2025)
International tourist arrivals: 398,000 arrivals (2015)
CO2 emissions per person: 0.261 t CO2e per person (2024)

Largest cities: Sanaa, Aden.

Also ranks #2 in prevalence of stunting (under-5) · #2 in prevalence of wasting (under-5) · #12 in unemployment rate.

Full country profile

#5 Zambia

Zambia ranks #5 on this list with +3.75.

Capital: Lusaka
Continent: Africa
Income group: Lower middle income
Population: 21.91 million people (2025)
GDP: US$28.88 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$1,318 (2025)
Life expectancy: 66.5 years (2024)
Urban population: 45.9% of population (2025)

Largest cities: Lusaka.

Also ranks #2 in mineral rents share of gdp · #3 in gini index · #4 in prevalence of undernourishment.

Full country profile

#6 Namibia

Namibia ranks #6 on this list with +3.68.

Capital: Windhoek
Continent: Africa
Income group: Lower middle income
Population: 3.09 million people (2025)
GDP: US$15.08 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$4,876 (2025)
Life expectancy: 67.5 years (2024)
Urban population: 50.9% of population (2025)

Also ranks #1 in women in ministerial positions share · #2 in tax revenue share of gdp · #4 in education expenditure share of gdp.

Full country profile

#7 Kuwait

Kuwait ranks #7 on this list with +2.84.

Capital: Kuwait City
Continent: Asia
Income group: High income
Population: 4.87 million people (2025)
GDP: US$157.21 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$32,312 (2025)
Life expectancy: 84.6 years (2024)
Urban population: 100% of population (2025)

Largest cities: Kuwait City.

Also ranks #1 in fertiliser consumption · #2 in access to sanitation · #3 in population ages 15-64 share.

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#8 Malawi

Malawi ranks #8 on this list with +2.69.

Capital: Lilongwe
Continent: Africa
Income group: Low income
Population: 22.22 million people (2025)
GDP: US$14.92 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$671.5 (2025)
Life expectancy: 67.6 years (2024)
Urban population: 17.6% of population (2025)

Also ranks #3 in school enrolment (primary) · #3 in pupil-teacher ratio (primary) · #3 in poverty headcount ratio.

Full country profile

#9 Congo, Rep.

Congo, Rep. ranks #9 on this list with +2.62.

Capital: Brazzaville
Continent: Africa
Income group: Lower middle income
Population: 6.48 million people (2025)
GDP: US$16.31 billion (2025)
GDP per person: US$2,515 (2025)
Life expectancy: 66 years (2024)
Urban population: 64.1% of population (2025)

Largest cities: Brazzaville, Pointe-Noire.

Also ranks #3 in oil rents share of gdp · #4 in natural resource rents share of gdp · #7 in unemployment rate.

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#10 Bahamas, The

Bahamas, The ranks #10 on this list with +2.44.

Capital: Nassau
Continent: North America
Income group: High income
Population: 403,030 people (2025)
GDP: US$15.83 billion (2024)
GDP per person: US$39,455 (2024)
Life expectancy: 74.7 years (2024)
Urban population: 81.3% of population (2025)

Also ranks #6 in access to clean cooking fuels · #10 in homicide rate · #10 in cereal yield.

Full country profile

Profile facts: World Bank (CC BY 4.0) and Wikidata (CC0); weather links go to Purr Weather, another ChowChow Labs site.

Source and method

Change in Male life expectancy over the five years to each country's latest year, in points (a share or rate is not shown as a % of itself). Only countries that rose are listed.

Source: The World Bank, indicator SP.DYN.LE00.MA.IN. Licence: CC BY 4.0. Retrieved: 2026-11-14.

The World Bank: Life expectancy at birth, male (years): World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division (via World Development Indicators)

Original data provider, as recorded by the World Bank: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), publisher: UN Population Division; Statistical databases and publications from national statistical offices, National Statistical Offices (NSOs); Demographic Statistics, Eurostat (ESTAT).

Values are shown as published (changes are computed from the published values). Provider terms: The World Bank. All licences: Sources & licences.

Summary

Full ranking

About the top 10

#1 Central African Republic

#2 Afghanistan

#3 Eswatini

#4 Yemen, Rep.

#5 Zambia

#6 Namibia

#7 Kuwait

#8 Malawi

#9 Congo, Rep.

#10 Bahamas, The

Related rankings

Source and method