Life Expectancy at Birth for African Countries in 1981

Updated on March 17, 2026.

According to data from the World Bank, in 1981, among all African countries, Seychelles had the highest life expectancy at birth in Africa (70.19 years), followed by Mauritius (67.41 years), and Libya (65.26 years). On the other hand, South Sudan had the lowest life expectancy at birth in Africa in 1981 (38.31 years).

The chart and table below shows the life expectancy for African countries in 1981.

You can also see links below for the trend of the life expectancy for each African country.

The World Bank defines life expectancy at birth as "the average number of years a newborn is expected to live if mortality patterns at the time of its birth remain constant in the future".

Related Topics: World Bank Topic List
Data Source: World Bank.
See this for other years:
Total Life Expectancy at Birth for African Countries in 1981 (Years)
Life Expectancy at Birth for African Countries in 1981 (Years)
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Country Life Expectancy (Yrs)
Algeria 57.42
Angola 42.56
Benin 48.12
Botswana 63.03
Burkina Faso 46.87
Burundi 46.41
Cape Verde 61.3
Cameroon 51.23
Republic of Congo 57.07
Ivory Coast 51.79
Democratic Republic of the Congo 45.73
Djibouti 52.36
Central African Republic 50.03
Chad 43.5
Egypt 56.45
Equatorial Guinea 49.11
Eritrea 44.97
Eswatini 58.79
Ethiopia 43.08
Gabon 58.33
Gambia 44.49
Ghana 51.31
Guinea 43.33
Guinea-Bissau 43.93
Kenya 59.56
Lesotho 57.31
Liberia 44.34
Libya 65.26
Madagascar 49.81
Malawi 44.72
Mali 40.98
Mauritania 53.68
Mauritius 67.41
Morocco 56.02
Mozambique 41.64
Zambia 54.99
Zimbabwe 59.45
Tanzania 51.7
Uganda 43.46
Tunisia 64.37
Togo 52.78
Sudan 54.37
Somalia 47.82
South Africa 60.45
South Sudan 38.31
Sierra Leone 43.09
Senegal 49.08
Rwanda 49.22
Niger 39.64
Nigeria 46.31
Namibia 56.91
Comoros 51.21
Sao Tome and Principe 59.43
Seychelles 70.19

Trend of Life Expectancy at Birth for African Countries

Use the links below to see the trend of life expectancy at birth for the following African countries.