France vs Switzerland: Life expectancy by sex
France
86.09 years
in 2023
Switzerland
85.83 years
in 2023
France rank
13th
Switzerland rank
14th
Life expectancy by sex over time
- France
- Switzerland
How they compare
France currently reports 86.09 years against 85.83 years in Switzerland, a difference of 0.26 years.
The two have swapped places 20 times across 148 shared years of data; in 1876 it was France ahead.
France ranks 13th and Switzerland ranks 14th of 236 countries.
Across the 16 decades both report, France averaged higher in 5 and Switzerland in 11.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | France | Switzerland | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 44.89 years | 42.19 years | 2.7 years | France |
| 1880s | 44.86 years | 45.55 years | 0.689 years | Switzerland |
| 1890s | 46.8 years | 48.59 years | 1.8 years | Switzerland |
| 1900s | 49.9 years | 51.62 years | 1.72 years | Switzerland |
| 1910s | 51.42 years | 55.47 years | 4.05 years | Switzerland |
| 1920s | 56.42 years | 60.7 years | 4.28 years | Switzerland |
| 1930s | 60.94 years | 64.5 years | 3.56 years | Switzerland |
| 1940s | 61.99 years | 67.85 years | 5.86 years | Switzerland |
| 1950s | 71.18 years | 72.43 years | 1.25 years | Switzerland |
| 1960s | 74.59 years | 74.94 years | 0.3497 years | Switzerland |
| 1970s | 76.91 years | 77.61 years | 0.7066 years | Switzerland |
| 1980s | 79.46 years | 79.98 years | 0.5268 years | Switzerland |
| 1990s | 81.81 years | 81.69 years | 0.1229 years | France |
| 2000s | 83.67 years | 83.48 years | 0.1976 years | France |
| 2010s | 85.19 years | 84.99 years | 0.2039 years | France |
| 2020s | 85.52 years | 85.47 years | 0.0505 years | France |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher life expectancy by sex, France or Switzerland?
- France, at 86.09 years against 85.83 years in Switzerland as of 2023.
- What is the difference in life expectancy by sex between France and Switzerland?
- 0.26 years, with France ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for France and Switzerland?
- 148 years are reported by both, from 1876 to 2023.
- How do France and Switzerland rank globally for life expectancy by sex?
- France ranks 13th and Switzerland ranks 14th of 236 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Life expectancy by sex. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Period life expectancy at birth among females, in a given year.