Statizoid

Life expectancy by sex in Denmark

Denmark: Life expectancy by sex was 83.85 years in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)
83.85 years
Change on year
up 0.8%
World rank
39th
of 236 countries
All-time high
83.85 years
in 2023
All-time low
39.87 years
in 1853
Years of data
189
1835–2023

Life expectancy by sex in Denmark, 1835–2023

020406080183519292023

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

Analysis

Denmark recorded 83.85 years for life expectancy by sex in 2023. That is the highest value across all 189 years on record.

That represents a change of up 0.8% on the previous year and up 1.9% over ten years.

Over the whole period, life expectancy by sex in Denmark peaked at 83.85 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 39.87 years, in 1853.

Denmark ranks 39th of 236 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 189 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1830s 42.43 years 40.25 years 44.41 years 5
1840s 43.23 years 41.61 years 45.19 years 10
1850s 44.7 years 39.87 years 47.84 years 10
1860s 45.69 years 40.78 years 49.01 years 10
1870s 47.39 years 45.45 years 48.34 years 10
1880s 48.87 years 45.75 years 50.84 years 10
1890s 51.12 years 47.88 years 54.59 years 10
1900s 56.47 years 53.57 years 58.87 years 10
1910s 58.98 years 57.28 years 60.12 years 10
1920s 61.9 years 58.47 years 62.77 years 10
1930s 64.57 years 62.9 years 66.93 years 10
1940s 68.61 years 67.06 years 71.47 years 10
1950s 72.97 years 71.53 years 74.03 years 10
1960s 74.81 years 73.99 years 75.7 years 10
1970s 76.79 years 75.92 years 77.67 years 10
1980s 77.56 years 77.18 years 77.79 years 10
1990s 78.19 years 77.73 years 78.89 years 10
2000s 80.1 years 79.12 years 81.03 years 10
2010s 82.51 years 81.34 years 83.42 years 10
2020s 83.46 years 83.17 years 83.85 years 4

Countries ranked near Denmark

  1. 36 Belgium 84.33 years compare
  2. 37 Austria 84.32 years compare
  3. 38 United Arab Emirates 84.2 years compare
  4. 40 Saint Martin (French part) 83.84 years compare
  5. 41 Luxembourg 83.84 years compare
  6. 42 New Zealand 83.77 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More population data for Denmark

All data for Denmark →

Frequently asked questions

What is life expectancy by sex in Denmark?
Life expectancy by sex in Denmark was 83.85 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 Denmark?
The highest recorded value was 83.85 years in 2023.
What is the lowest life expectancy by sex recorded in Denmark?
The lowest recorded value was 39.87 years in 1853.
How does Denmark rank for life expectancy by sex?
Denmark ranks 39th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is life expectancy by sex rising or falling in Denmark?
Over the last ten years it is up 1.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Denmark 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 — 189 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.