Living Past 65: How Life Expectancy Differs for Men and Women Around the World

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Remember your grandparents telling stories about “back in their day”? Well, here’s a story that would surprise even them. In 1900, reaching age 65 was like winning a lottery – only one in four Americans made it that far. Today, the script has flipped completely – more than 70% of us will celebrate our 65th birthday and many more after that.

I’ve created these maps to show you something fascinating about our world today. The colors tell the story at a glance – green shows countries where more people live past 65, while red reveals places where fewer people reach this milestone.

Men’s Story

Let’s look at our first map:

The patterns here might surprise you. Notice how North America and Western Europe glow green, while parts of Africa and the former Soviet Union show redder shades. Each color represents countless life stories, and the differences between regions are striking.

Want to see something even more interesting? Watch how these patterns have changed:

Over these 55 years, most countries have grown steadily greener – that’s millions more people living longer lives. But not everywhere. Some parts of Africa still struggle with shorter lifespans, often due to limited healthcare access.

Percentage of the male population dying before the age of 65

Rank	Country	Percentage of the male population dying before the age of 65
1	Lesotho	67
2	Swaziland	62
3	Central African Republic	60
4	Sierra Leone	59
5	Cote d’Ivoire	58
6	Chad	56
7	Nigeria	55
8	South Africa	54
9	Mozambique	52
10	Zimbabwe	51
11	Somalia	51
12	Burundi	50
13	Equatorial Guinea	50
14	Cameroon	50
15	South Sudan	50
16	Guinea-Bissau	49
17	Uganda	49
18	Zambia	48
19	Malawi	47
20	Namibia	47
21	Mali	46
22	Angola	45
23	Togo	45
24	Democratic Republic of the Congo	45
25	Niger	44
26	Burkina Faso	44
27	Guinea	44
28	Gambia	44
29	Benin	43
30	Eritrea	43
31	Russian Federation	43
32	Botswana	42
33	Kazakhstan	42
34	Mongolia	42
35	Haiti	42
36	Djibouti	42
37	Comoros	41
38	Ghana	41
39	Liberia	41
40	Papua New Guinea	41
41	Belarus	40
42	Ukraine	40
43	Turkmenistan	40
44	Afghanistan	40
45	Republic Congo	40
46	Philippines	39
47	Mauritania	39
48	Yemen	39
49	Sudan	39
50	Kiribati	39
51	Tanzania	39
52	Kenya	38
53	Guyana	38
54	Ethiopia	38
55	Myanmar	37
56	Moldova	37
57	Gabon	37
58	Madagascar	37
59	Lao PDR	36
60	Lithuania	36
61	Syrian Arab Republic	36
62	Rwanda	36
63	Kyrgyz Republic	36
64	Sao Tome and Principe	35
65	Senegal	35
66	Fiji	35
67	India	34
68	El Salvador	34
69	Latvia	34
70	Bolivia	34
71	Seychelles	34
72	Pakistan	33
73	Georgia	33
74	Suriname	33
75	Belize	33
76	Indonesia	33
77	Cambodia	33
78	Trinidad and Tobago	33
79	Iraq	32
80	Early-demographic dividend	32
81	Bhutan	31
82	Timor-Leste	31
83	Uzbekistan	31
84	Guatemala	30
85	Tajikistan	30
86	Egypt	30
87	Micronesia	30
88	North Korea	30
89	Bulgaria	29
90	Azerbaijan	29
91	Nepal	29
92	Dominican Republic	29
93	Thailand	28
94	Grenada	28
95	Libya	28
96	Venezuela	28
97	Solomon Islands	28
98	Armenia	28
99	Romania	28
100	Caribbean small states	28
101	Middle income	28
102	Mauritius	28
103	Hungary	28
104	Tonga	28
105	Estonia	27
106	Honduras	27
107	Bahamas	27
108	Nicaragua	27
109	Colombia	27
110	Vietnam	27
111	Sri Lanka	27
112	Brazil	27
113	Bangladesh	27
114	St. Lucia	26
115	St. Vincent and the Grenadines	26
116	Paraguay	26
117	Vanuatu	26
118	Samoa	25
119	Poland	25
120	Cabo Verde	25
121	Malaysia	24
122	Argentina	24
123	Serbia	24
124	Peru	24
125	Slovak Republic	24
126	Jamaica	23
127	Ecuador	23
128	West Bank and Gaza	23
129	Uruguay	22
130	Turkey	22
131	Jordan	22
132	Mexico	22
133	Antigua and Barbuda	22
134	Panama	22
135	Bosnia and Herzegovina	21
136	Barbados	21
137	Croatia	21
138	Macedonia	21
139	Puerto Rico	20
140	Tunisia	20
141	Aruba	20
142	Curacao	20
143	Montenegro	20
144	French Polynesia	20
145	United States	19
146	Algeria	19
147	Czech Republic	19
148	Saudi Arabia	19
149	Oman	18
150	New Caledonia	18
151	Brunei Darussalam	17
152	China	17
153	Cuba	17
154	Costa Rica	17
155	Chile	17
156	Finland	16
157	Slovenia	16
158	United Arab Emirates	16
159	Kuwait	16
160	Iran	16
161	Germany	15
162	Albania	15
163	Morocco	15
164	the Maldives	15
165	France	15
166	Portugal	15
167	Virgin Islands (U.S.)	14
168	Guam	14
169	Austria	14
170	Denmark	14
171	Bahrain	14
172	Greece	14
173	Belgium	14
174	United Kingdom	13
175	Lebanon	13
176	Luxembourg	13
177	Qatar	13
178	South Korea	13
179	New Zealand	12
180	Japan	12
181	Ireland	12
182	Cyprus	12
183	Canada	12
184	Spain	12
185	Sweden	11
186	Singapore	11
187	Australia	11
188	Hong Kong SAR	11
189	Channel Islands	11
190	Italy	11
191	Netherlands	11
192	Israel	11
193	Malta	11
194	Norway	11
195	Iceland	10
196	Macao SAR	10
197	Switzerland	10

Women’s Journey

Now, here’s the same map for women:

Notice something? There’s a lot more green here. In fact, the global numbers tell us that while 27% of men don’t reach 65, for women it’s only 19%. That’s not just statistics – it’s millions of extra birthdays, anniversaries, and moments with loved ones.

Let’s watch how this changed over time:

The transformation is remarkable. Take South Korea, for instance – they’ve gone from mostly red to bright green in just a few decades. How? By dramatically improving healthcare and education.

Percentage of the female population dying before the age of 65

Rank	Country	Percentage of female population dying before the age of 65
1	Lesotho	57
2	Sierra Leone	57
3	Central African Republic	55
4	Côte d'Ivoire	53
5	Nigeria	51
6	Chad	51
7	South Sudan	47
8	Cameroon	46
9	Swaziland	46
10	Somalia	45
11	Equatorial Guinea	45
12	Zimbabwe	44
13	Mali	43
14	Mozambique	43
15	Burundi	42
16	Guinea-Bissau	41
17	Togo	40
18	Uganda	40
19	Guinea	40
20	Niger	39
21	Dem Rep Congo	39
22	Burkina Faso	39
23	South Africa	38
24	Benin	37
25	Gambia	37
26	Zambia	37
27	Ghana	36
28	Liberia	36
29	Djibouti	36
30	Malawi	35
31	Angola	35
32	Rep Congo	35
33	Namibia	35
34	Eritrea	34
35	Haiti	34
36	Afghanistan	34
37	Comoros	33
38	Papua New Guinea	32
39	Tanzania	32
40	Gabon	32
41	Mauritania	32
42	Sudan	32
43	Yemen	32
44	Ethiopia	31
45	Bhutan	31
46	Madagascar	30
47	Lao PDR	29
48	Pakistan	28
49	Rwanda	28
50	Kenya	28
51	Botswana	28
52	Guyana	28
53	Bolivia	27
54	Sao Tome and Principe	27
55	Myanmar	27
56	India	26
57	Small states	26
58	Senegal	26
59	Kiribati	26
60	Micronesia	25
61	Indonesia	24
62	Cambodia	24
63	Turkmenistan	24
64	Nepal	23
65	Timor-Leste	23
66	Mongolia	22
67	Solomon Islands	22
68	Iraq	22
69	Fiji	22
70	Philippines	22
71	Tajikistan	21
72	Trinidad and Tobago	21
73	Bangladesh	21
74	St. Vincent and the Grenadines	20
75	Egypt	20
76	Suriname	20
77	Paraguay	20
78	Belize	20
79	Guatemala	19
80	Dominican Republic	19
81	Kazakhstan	19
82	Uzbekistan	19
83	Honduras	19
84	Cabo Verde	18
85	Moldova	18
86	Tonga	18
87	Russian Federation	18
88	Vanuatu	18
89	Kyrgyz Republic	18
90	North Korea	18
91	Caribbean small states	18
92	The Bahamas	17
93	Azerbaijan	17
94	St. Lucia	17
95	Libya	17
96	Nicaragua	17
97	Jordan	16
98	Peru	16
99	Grenada	16
100	El Salvador	16
101	West Bank and Gaza	16
102	Ukraine	16
103	Venezuela	15
104	Belarus	15
105	Ecuador	15
106	Samoa	15
107	Algeria	15
108	Saudi Arabia	15
109	Antigua and Barbuda	15
110	Mauritius	15
111	Brazil	15
112	Jamaica	15
113	Colombia	15
114	Latvia	14
115	Armenia	14
116	Hungary	14
117	Syrian Arab Republic	14
118	Seychelles	14
119	Malaysia	14
120	Mexico	14
121	Thailand	14
122	Argentina	13
123	Morocco	13
124	Oman	13
125	French Polynesia	13
126	Tunisia	13
127	Uruguay	13
128	Romania	13
129	Panama	13
130	Serbia	13
131	Georgia	13
132	Bulgaria	13
133	Lithuania	13
134	Cuba	12
135	United States	12
136	Macedonia	12
137	Iran	12
138	Kuwait	12
139	Brunei Darussalam	12
140	Turkey	12
141	Vietnam	12
142	Sri Lanka	12
143	Barbados	12
144	Aruba	12
145	China	12
146	United Arab Emirates	12
147	Slovak Republic	11
148	Poland	11
149	Montenegro	11
150	Curacao	11
151	Qatar	11
152	Chile	11
153	Bosnia and Herzegovina	11
154	Bahrain	11
155	Maldives	11
156	Costa Rica	10
157	Estonia	10
158	New Caledonia	10
159	Belgium	9
160	Puerto Rico	9
161	Lebanon	9
162	Denmark	9
163	Czech Republic	9
164	Croatia	9
165	Albania	9
166	Channel Islands	8
167	France	8
168	Luxembourg	8
169	Netherlands	8
170	Germany	8
171	Canada	8
172	New Zealand	8
173	Virgin Islands (U.S.)	8
174	Guam	8
175	United Kingdom	8
176	Iceland	7
177	Australia	7
178	Greece	7
179	Israel	7
180	Sweden	7
181	Portugal	7
182	Norway	7
183	Finland	7
184	Austria	7
185	Ireland	7
186	Malta	7
187	Slovenia	7
188	Hong Kong	6
189	South Korea	6
190	Spain	6
191	Italy	6
192	Japan	6
193	Switzerland	6
194	Cyprus	6
195	Singapore	6
196	Macao SAR	4

Why Do Women Live Longer?

You might be wondering – is it just biology? Actually, it’s more complicated than that. Yes, women have some biological advantages, but lifestyle plays a huge role. Men tend to:

• Put off doctor visits longer
• Work in riskier jobs
• Take more dangerous risks in general

These maps aren’t just pretty colors – they’re a window into how our world is changing. Fifty years ago, reaching 65 was less certain. Today, most of us need to plan for a longer life than our grandparents ever imagined.

What’s the story in your part of the world? Do you see these patterns in your own family? Share your thoughts below – I’d love to hear how these global trends match up with your local experience.