Life expectancy by sex in Botswana

Botswana: Life expectancy by sex was 71.7 years in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
71.7 years
Change on year
up 0.6%
World rank
175th
of 236 countries
All-time high
71.7 years
in 2023
All-time low
48.02 years
in 1950
Years of data
74
1950–2023

Life expectancy by sex in Botswana, 1950–2023

020406080195019862023

Source: Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.

Analysis

The most recent figure for life expectancy by sex in Botswana is 71.7 years, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.

The figure is up 0.6% on the previous year and up 13.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, life expectancy by sex in Botswana peaked at 71.7 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 48.02 years, in 1950.

Botswana ranks 175th of 236 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1950s 50.14 years 48.02 years 52.53 years 10
1960s 55.63 years 53.12 years 58.09 years 10
1970s 61.55 years 58.62 years 64.54 years 10
1980s 65.91 years 64.74 years 66.71 years 10
1990s 58.56 years 54.35 years 63.73 years 10
2000s 56.34 years 53.96 years 60.48 years 10
2010s 65.05 years 61.49 years 69.59 years 10
2020s 69.7 years 65.51 years 71.7 years 4

Countries ranked near Botswana

  1. 172 Solomon Islands 71.98 years compare
  2. 173 Nepal 71.84 years compare
  3. 174 Palau 71.8 years compare
  4. 176 Palestine 71.5 years compare
  5. 177 Yemen 71.39 years compare
  6. 178 Namibia 71.34 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More population data for Botswana

All data for Botswana →

Frequently asked questions

What is life expectancy by sex in Botswana?
Life expectancy by sex in Botswana was 71.7 years in 2023, according to Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest life expectancy by sex recorded in Botswana?
The highest recorded value was 71.7 years in 2023.
What is the lowest life expectancy by sex recorded in Botswana?
The lowest recorded value was 48.02 years in 1950.
How does Botswana rank for life expectancy by sex?
Botswana ranks 175th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is life expectancy by sex rising or falling in Botswana?
Over the last ten years it is up 13.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Botswana data come from?
The figures come from Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy by sex. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Life expectancy by sex
Unit
years
Source
Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
236 places, 18,722 data points, 1751–2023
Last refreshed

The period life expectancy at birth among females, in a given year.