Life expectancy by sex in Canada
Canada: Life expectancy by sex was 84.83 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Life expectancy by sex in Canada, 1921–2023
Source: Human Mortality Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2023, life expectancy by sex in Canada stood at 84.83 years. That is the highest value across all 103 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.8% on the previous year and up 1.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy by sex in Canada peaked at 84.83 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 58.07 years, in 1923.
Canada ranks 29th of 236 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 103 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1920s | 59.22 years | 58.07 years | 60.45 years | 9 |
| 1930s | 63.24 years | 60.35 years | 65.34 years | 10 |
| 1940s | 67.6 years | 65.65 years | 69.85 years | 10 |
| 1950s | 72.33 years | 70.58 years | 73.68 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 75.07 years | 74.15 years | 76.02 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 77.3 years | 76.27 years | 78.59 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 79.66 years | 78.72 years | 80.38 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 81.02 years | 80.62 years | 81.57 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 82.44 years | 81.77 years | 83.23 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 83.88 years | 83.45 years | 84.36 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 84.31 years | 83.91 years | 84.83 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Canada
More population data for Canada
- World population growth 0.3% (2100)
- Population density 6.1 people per km² (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 2.33 million people (2100)
- Population growth rate, by level of development 0.3% (2100)
- Total fertility rate vs. contraceptive prevalence 1.25 births per woman (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. unmet need for contraception 1.25 births per woman (2024)
- Refugees by country of asylum 269,496 people (2024)
- Total fertility rate vs. wanted fertility rate 1.25 births per woman (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. Share of people who are religious 1.35 live births per woman (2023)
- Fertility rate accounting for survival until childbearing age 1.34 children per women (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy by sex in Canada?
- Life expectancy by sex in Canada was 84.83 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 Canada?
- The highest recorded value was 84.83 years in 2023.
- What is the lowest life expectancy by sex recorded in Canada?
- The lowest recorded value was 58.07 years in 1923.
- How does Canada rank for life expectancy by sex?
- Canada ranks 29th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is life expectancy by sex rising or falling in Canada?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Canada 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 — 103 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The period life expectancy at birth among females, in a given year.