Countries in South America by life expectancy
Life expectancy at birth: the years a newborn would live if the death rates of the year stayed the same all its life. 12 countries in South America, highest first. World Bank, 2024
Median country
76.8
half above, half below| # | Country | Years | Region |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Chile | 81.4 | South America |
| 2 |  Uruguay | 78.3 | South America |
| =3 |  Colombia | 77.9 | South America |
| =3 |  Peru | 77.9 | South America |
| 5 |  Ecuador | 77.6 | South America |
| 6 |  Argentina | 77.5 | South America |
| 7 |  Brazil | 76.0 | South America |
| 8 |  Paraguay | 74.0 | South America |
| 9 |  Suriname | 73.8 | South America |
| 10 |  Venezuela | 72.7 | South America |
| 11 |  Guyana | 70.3 | South America |
| 12 |  Bolivia | 68.7 | South America |
Questions
- Which country in South America has the highest life expectancy?
- Chile has the highest life expectancy in South America: 81.4 years (2024). Next come Uruguay (78.3 years) and Colombia (77.9 years).
- Which country in South America has the lowest life expectancy?
- Bolivia, with 68.7 years (2024).
- What is the typical life expectancy of a country in South America?
- The median of the 12 countries in South America is 76.8 years: half are above it, half below. The median, not the average, because a few countries at the top would drag an average far above almost everyone.
- Where do the figures come from?
- Life expectancy at birth: the years a newborn would live if the death rates of the year stayed the same all its life. Source: World Bank, 2024. Only independent states are ranked; territories are listed separately. A country’s continent follows Natural Earth; the handful of island states it files under the open ocean are placed by their UN subregion.
Source: World Bank (CC BY 4.0). Figures more than 5 years older than the newest are left out rather than shown beside current ones. Countries sharing a value share a rank. All sources.