Life Expectancy at Birth for African Countries in 1997

Updated on March 17, 2026.

According to data from the World Bank, in 1997, among all African countries, Tunisia had the highest life expectancy at birth in Africa (71.67 years), followed by Seychelles (71.21 years), and Libya (70.72 years). On the other hand, South Sudan had the lowest life expectancy at birth in Africa in 1997 (33.07 years).

The chart and table below shows the life expectancy for African countries in 1997.

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 1997 (Years)
Life Expectancy at Birth for African Countries in 1997 (Years)
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Country Life Expectancy (Yrs)
Algeria 68.86
Angola 46.69
Benin 55.99
Botswana 53.59
Burkina Faso 49.56
Burundi 45.72
Cape Verde 66.08
Cameroon 53.11
Republic of Congo 48.58
Ivory Coast 51.5
Democratic Republic of the Congo 50.46
Djibouti 56.21
Central African Republic 47.28
Chad 47.76
Egypt 66.21
Equatorial Guinea 52.37
Eritrea 56.16
Eswatini 51.7
Ethiopia 49.21
Gabon 61.4
Gambia 55.23
Ghana 57.24
Guinea 51.11
Guinea-Bissau 48.03
Kenya 55.48
Lesotho 53.73
Liberia 48.3
Libya 70.72
Madagascar 56.13
Malawi 44.2
Mali 49.09
Mauritania 59.42
Mauritius 70.41
Morocco 65.62
Mozambique 47.8
Zambia 45.74
Zimbabwe 48.54
Tanzania 51.25
Uganda 48.03
Tunisia 71.67
Togo 53.85
Sudan 58.06
Somalia 50.28
South Africa 60.54
South Sudan 33.07
Sierra Leone 43.65
Senegal 57.11
Rwanda 41.98
Niger 47.1
Nigeria 45.96
Namibia 55.84
Comoros 58.23
Sao Tome and Principe 60.65
Seychelles 71.21

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.