Life expectancy has continued to rise in the longest-lived countries

Record national life expectancies have been climbing for over a century.

In 1840, Swedish women had a life expectancy of 46 years — the highest of any country recorded that year. By 1921, Australia held the record at 63 years.

For most of the 20th century, Iceland, Norway, Australia, and Sweden competed for the top position before being overtaken by Japan in 1984. Hong Kong and Japan have held the records since then.

These countries didn’t merely catch up; they’ve continued to push the limits higher.

Japan added six more years to female life expectancy between 1984 and 2010, rising from 80 to 86 years.

This remarkable rise has resulted from many advances in medicine, public health, and living standards — breaking many predictions of the “limits” of life expectancy.

Read more in our article about the rise of maximum life expectancy →

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