How American Life Expectancy Compares To Its Peers

For decades, Americans could expect to live about as long as their peers in other wealthy countries… but today, that story is changing.

Based on a 2025 analysis by Peterson-KFF, American life expectancy is now lagging significantly behind comparable nations, with the gap growing wider than ever before.

From chronic diseases to healthcare disparities, multiple factors are contributing to Americans dying younger. In this infographic, Visual Capitalist’s Marcus Lu takes a look at how the U.S. stacks up—and how quickly it’s falling behind.

Data and Discussion

The data we used to create this graphic is included in the table below.

The comparable country group is based on averages across 11 nations: Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, and the UK.

Year
U.S. (yrs)
Comparable Country
Average (yrs)
1980
73.7
74.6
1981
74.1
74.8
1982
74.5
75.1
1983
74.6
75.3
1984
74.7
75.7
1985
74.7
75.7
1986
74.7
76
1987
74.9
76.4
1988
74.9
76.5
1989
75.1
76.7
1990
75.4
76.9
1991
75.5
77.1
1992
75.8
77.3
1993
75.5
77.4
1994
75.7
77.8
1995
75.8
77.8
1996
76.1
78.1
1997
76.5
78.4
1998
76.7
78.6
1999
76.7
78.7
2000
76.8
79
2001
77
79.3
2002
77
79.4
2003
77.2
79.5
2004
77.6
80.1
2005
77.6
80.2
2006
77.8
80.6
2007
78.1
80.8
2008
78.2
81
2009
78.5
81.2
2010
78.7
81.4
2011
78.7
81.6
2012
78.8
81.6
2013
78.8
81.8
2014
78.9
82.1
2015
78.7
81.9
2016
78.7
82.2
2017
78.6
82.3
2018
78.7
82.3
2019
78.8
82.6
2020
77
82
2021
76.4
82.2
2022
77.5
82.2
2023
78.4
82.5

Higher Spending, Lower Life Expectancy

According to Peterson-KFF, the U.S. has the lowest life expectancy among large, wealthy countries despite outspending its peers on healthcare.

In 2023, health spending per capita in the U.S. climbed to $13,432, versus $7,393 for the same 11 nation peer group.

This disconnect suggests inefficiencies, unequal access, and other systemic problems in the U.S. healthcare system are preventing resources from translating into longer, healthier lives.

Chronic Diseases Drag American Life Expectancy Down

A key factor behind the stagnation of life expectancy in the U.S. is the rising prevalence of chronic diseases.

This includes kidney disease, which in 2021 claimed 41 lives per 100,000 in the U.S., versus just 28 per 100,000 for the comparable country group.

If you’re enjoying our content, check out this graphic showing global obesity projections by 2050 on Voronoi, the new app from Visual Capitalist.