2026-08-30 · people
A twenty-year gap in how long people live
Born in Japan vs born in some fragile states — expected years diverge by decades.
Where you're born still shapes how long you'll live. This grid sorts the world's 8.2 billion people into three life-expectancy bands: 22% live in high-longevity countries, 56% in the middle band, and 22% in countries where newborns can expect the fewest years. Between top and bottom, expected lifespans diverge by decades — a twenty-year gap drawn along national borders.
1 cell = 8.2 million people (0.1% of world population) · 1,000 cells
Context
The world has come far: global life expectancy was just over 70 years in 2021, more than double the 32-year average of 1900, and in 1800 no region exceeded 40 years. Gains came from nutrition, clean water, sanitation, vaccines, and antibiotics — and, contrary to a common belief, they came at all ages, not only through fewer child deaths.
The divide remains stark. Our World in Data reports that in 2021 Nigeria's life expectancy was thirty years lower than Japan's, and countries with lower averages also tend to have wider variation in how long their people live.
The three bands here are an illustrative grouping of WHO and UN World Population Prospects estimates; period life expectancy summarizes the death rates of a single year across all ages. Where death registration is lacking, the UN relies on household surveys to estimate mortality.
WHO / UN WPP life expectancy bands, illustrative grouping.
Share and export
Credit this grid as Inagrid — https://inagrid.com/e/2026-08-30-life-expectancy-gap