Life expectancy by sex in Spain
Spain: Life expectancy by sex was 86.31 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
86.31 years
Change on year
up 1.2%
World rank
9th
of 236 countries
All-time high
86.31 years
in 2023
All-time low
30.8 years
in 1918
Years of data
116
1908–2023
Life expectancy by sex in Spain, 1908–2023
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 Spain is 86.31 years, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 116 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.2% on the previous year and up 1.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, life expectancy by sex in Spain peaked at 86.31 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 30.8 years, in 1918.
Spain ranks 9th of 236 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 116 years of available data.
Life expectancy by sex in Spain, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1908 | 42.35 years | — |
| 1909 | 42.09 years | -0.6% |
| 1910 | 42.02 years | -0.2% |
| 1911 | 40.77 years | -3.0% |
| 1912 | 44.39 years | +8.9% |
| 1913 | 43.59 years | -1.8% |
| 1914 | 43.7 years | +0.3% |
| 1915 | 44.01 years | +0.7% |
| 1916 | 44.89 years | +2.0% |
| 1917 | 43.58 years | -2.9% |
| 1918 | 30.8 years | -29.3% |
| 1919 | 42.15 years | +36.9% |
| 1920 | 40.5 years | -3.9% |
| 1921 | 43.23 years | +6.7% |
| 1922 | 45.45 years | +5.1% |
| 1923 | 46.02 years | +1.3% |
| 1924 | 47.8 years | +3.9% |
| 1925 | 48.49 years | +1.4% |
| 1926 | 49.22 years | +1.5% |
| 1927 | 50.01 years | +1.6% |
| 1928 | 50.11 years | +0.2% |
| 1929 | 51.16 years | +2.1% |
| 1930 | 51.11 years | -0.1% |
| 1931 | 51.07 years | -0.1% |
| 1932 | 52.85 years | +3.5% |
| 1933 | 53.3 years | +0.9% |
| 1934 | 54.09 years | +1.5% |
| 1935 | 54.6 years | +0.9% |
| 1936 | 55.57 years | +1.8% |
| 1937 | 52.26 years | -6.0% |
| 1938 | 52.17 years | -0.2% |
| 1939 | 51.8 years | -0.7% |
| 1940 | 52.64 years | +1.6% |
| 1941 | 51.47 years | -2.2% |
| 1942 | 55.33 years | +7.5% |
| 1943 | 57.63 years | +4.2% |
| 1944 | 59.24 years | +2.8% |
| 1945 | 60.55 years | +2.2% |
| 1946 | 60.65 years | +0.2% |
| 1947 | 61.66 years | +1.7% |
| 1948 | 63.92 years | +3.7% |
| 1949 | 63.5 years | -0.7% |
| 1950 | 64.12 years | +1.0% |
| 1951 | 63.79 years | -0.5% |
| 1952 | 66.99 years | +5.0% |
| 1953 | 67.85 years | +1.3% |
| 1954 | 69.04 years | +1.8% |
| 1955 | 68.88 years | -0.2% |
| 1956 | 69.01 years | +0.2% |
| 1957 | 68.88 years | -0.2% |
| 1958 | 71.03 years | +3.1% |
| 1959 | 71.02 years | -0.0% |
| 1960 | 71.63 years | +0.9% |
| 1961 | 71.93 years | +0.4% |
| 1962 | 72.05 years | +0.2% |
| 1963 | 72.32 years | +0.4% |
| 1964 | 73.09 years | +1.1% |
| 1965 | 73.53 years | +0.6% |
| 1966 | 73.74 years | +0.3% |
| 1967 | 74.03 years | +0.4% |
| 1968 | 74.36 years | +0.4% |
| 1969 | 73.85 years | -0.7% |
| 1970 | 74.87 years | +1.4% |
| 1971 | 74.56 years | -0.4% |
| 1972 | 75.64 years | +1.4% |
| 1973 | 75.53 years | -0.1% |
| 1974 | 75.93 years | +0.5% |
| 1975 | 76.35 years | +0.6% |
| 1976 | 76.71 years | +0.5% |
| 1977 | 77.23 years | +0.7% |
| 1978 | 77.48 years | +0.3% |
| 1979 | 78.05 years | +0.7% |
| 1980 | 78.55 years | +0.7% |
| 1981 | 78.78 years | +0.3% |
| 1982 | 79.35 years | +0.7% |
| 1983 | 79.13 years | -0.3% |
| 1984 | 79.68 years | +0.7% |
| 1985 | 79.66 years | -0.0% |
| 1986 | 79.89 years | +0.3% |
| 1987 | 80.24 years | +0.4% |
| 1988 | 80.29 years | +0.1% |
| 1989 | 80.5 years | +0.3% |
| 1990 | 80.56 years | +0.1% |
| 1991 | 80.75 years | +0.2% |
| 1992 | 81.26 years | +0.6% |
| 1993 | 81.34 years | +0.1% |
| 1994 | 81.72 years | +0.5% |
| 1995 | 81.85 years | +0.2% |
| 1996 | 82 years | +0.2% |
| 1997 | 82.35 years | +0.4% |
| 1998 | 82.42 years | +0.1% |
| 1999 | 82.43 years | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 82.84 years | +0.5% |
| 2001 | 83.16 years | +0.4% |
| 2002 | 83.23 years | +0.1% |
| 2003 | 83.07 years | -0.2% |
| 2004 | 83.65 years | +0.7% |
| 2005 | 83.61 years | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 84.21 years | +0.7% |
| 2007 | 84.16 years | -0.1% |
| 2008 | 84.33 years | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 84.64 years | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 84.98 years | +0.4% |
| 2011 | 85.08 years | +0.1% |
| 2012 | 85.04 years | -0.0% |
| 2013 | 85.47 years | +0.5% |
| 2014 | 85.56 years | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 85.34 years | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 85.75 years | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 85.64 years | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 85.77 years | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 86.14 years | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 84.99 years | -1.3% |
| 2021 | 85.72 years | +0.9% |
| 2022 | 85.3 years | -0.5% |
| 2023 | 86.31 years | +1.2% |
Spain compared with similar countries
- Spain's 86.31 years is above the median for high income countries, which is 83.13 years, 1.0× the median. (85 countries reporting)
- Spain's 86.31 years is above the median for Europe & Central Asia, which is 82.57 years, 1.0× the median. (56 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Life expectancy by sex in Spain changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1919 | +36.9% | 30.8 years | 42.15 years |
| 1918 | -29.3% | 43.58 years | 30.8 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 42.22 years | 42.09 years | 42.35 years | 2 |
| 1910s | 41.99 years | 30.8 years | 44.89 years | 10 |
| 1920s | 47.2 years | 40.5 years | 51.16 years | 10 |
| 1930s | 52.88 years | 51.07 years | 55.57 years | 10 |
| 1940s | 58.66 years | 51.47 years | 63.92 years | 10 |
| 1950s | 68.06 years | 63.79 years | 71.03 years | 10 |
| 1960s | 73.05 years | 71.63 years | 74.36 years | 10 |
| 1970s | 76.23 years | 74.56 years | 78.05 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 79.61 years | 78.55 years | 80.5 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 81.67 years | 80.56 years | 82.43 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 83.69 years | 82.84 years | 84.64 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 85.48 years | 84.98 years | 86.14 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 85.58 years | 84.99 years | 86.31 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Spain
More population data for Spain
- Un population 2024 vs 2022, annual growth rate -0.6358 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population long run with projections, annual growth rate -0.527 % change on previous year (2100)
- Urban and rural population 2050, annual growth rate -4.98 % change on previous year (2050)
- Population regions with projections, annual growth rate -0.527 % change on previous year (2100)
- Population growth rate, by level of development -0.5% (2100)
- Number of children under 5, by world region 1.24 million people (2100)
- Population density 66.29 people per km² (2100)
- World population growth -0.5% (2100)
- Projected population under age 5, annual growth rate -0.2658 % change on previous year (2100)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 03 - Annual population -0.1636 Percent per annum (2030)
Frequently asked questions
- What is life expectancy by sex in Spain?
- Life expectancy by sex in Spain was 86.31 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 Spain?
- The highest recorded value was 86.31 years in 2023.
- What is the lowest life expectancy by sex recorded in Spain?
- The lowest recorded value was 30.8 years in 1918.
- How does Spain rank for life expectancy by sex?
- Spain ranks 9th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is life expectancy by sex rising or falling in Spain?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Spain 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 — 116 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Period life expectancy at birth among females, in a given year.