2026-07-22 · people
A twenty-year gap in how long people live
Born in Japan vs born in some fragile states — expected years diverge by decades.
Few things shape how long you live more than where you're born. This grid sorts the world's 8.2 billion people by the life expectancy of the country they call home: about one in five live in countries in the lowest band, roughly two decades behind the highest. In 2021, Nigeria's life expectancy ran thirty years behind Japan's — even as the global average climbed past 70.
1 cell = 8.2 million people (0.1% of world population) · 1,000 cells
Context
Bands follow WHO and UN World Population Prospects life expectancy estimates, grouped illustratively for this 2026 edition: 22% of the world's people live in high-longevity countries, 56% in the middle band, and 22% in countries with the lowest life expectancy.
The divide is historically young. In 1900, global life expectancy was just 32 years; by 2021 it had more than doubled to just over 70, with mortality falling at every age — not only in childhood — and record longevity still climbing by roughly a year every four years.
One caveat: period life expectancy summarizes death rates in a single year, and in poorer countries without full death registration, UN WPP estimates lean on household surveys. Lower-average countries also tend to have wider variation in lifespans, so national averages can mask deep internal gaps.
WHO / UN WPP life expectancy bands, illustrative grouping.
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Credit this grid as Inagrid — https://inagrid.com/e/2026-07-22-life-expectancy-gap