Life Expectancy at Birth for African Countries in 2017

Updated on March 17, 2026.

According to data from the World Bank, in 2017, among all African countries, Algeria had the highest life expectancy at birth in Africa (75.43 years), followed by Tunisia (75.18 years), and Cape Verde (74.71 years). On the other hand, South Sudan had the lowest life expectancy at birth in Africa in 2017 (35.35 years).

The chart and table below shows the life expectancy for African countries in 2017.

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 2017 (Years)
Life Expectancy at Birth for African Countries in 2017 (Years)
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Country Life Expectancy (Yrs)
Algeria 75.43
Angola 62.12
Benin 59.53
Botswana 65.42
Burkina Faso 59.58
Burundi 61.35
Cape Verde 74.71
Cameroon 60.82
Republic of Congo 64.2
Ivory Coast 59.32
Democratic Republic of the Congo 59.5
Djibouti 63.71
Central African Republic 45.23
Chad 51.88
Egypt 70.71
Equatorial Guinea 61.48
Eritrea 66.61
Eswatini 57.57
Ethiopia 64.77
Gabon 66.82
Gambia 63.71
Ghana 63.83
Guinea 58.72
Guinea-Bissau 61.15
Kenya 62.73
Lesotho 53.87
Liberia 60.78
Libya 72.72
Madagascar 63.43
Malawi 63.91
Mali 58.56
Mauritania 67.09
Mauritius 74.52
Morocco 73.61
Mozambique 60.15
Zambia 61.56
Zimbabwe 60.26
Tanzania 64.96
Uganda 65.17
Tunisia 75.18
Togo 60.14
Sudan 65.15
Somalia 52.19
South Africa 65.42
South Sudan 35.35
Sierra Leone 57.76
Senegal 67.06
Rwanda 66.14
Niger 59.52
Nigeria 52.4
Namibia 61.66
Comoros 65.13
Sao Tome and Principe 67.07
Seychelles 74.3

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.