Life expectancy in Australia is among the highest in the world, according to figures published by the Australian Bureau of Statistics and Australian Institute of Health and Welfare.
Life expectancy at birth was 81.2 years for males and 85.3 years for females in 2018-20.
Life expectancy for males has increased by 1.7 years and females by 1.3 years over the last 10 years.
Life expectancy in Australia
The graph below shows life expectancy in Australia based on the year you were born. As you can see from the table, the average life expectancy has gone up almost every year since records began.
In 2019 the average life expectancy at birth in Australia was 83 years, according to the World Health Organization.
In 2018-20, the average life expectancy for a male at birth was 81.2 years and 85.3 years for females, according to the ABS.
How life expectancy has changed over time
Life expectancy in Australia has improved dramatically for both men and women in the last century. The stats speak for themselves:
Australians born in 2017–2019 can expect to live around 30 years longer compared to 1881–1900.
Life expectancy for males increased by 1.7 years and females by 1.3 years in the past 10 years (2010-2020).
The life expectancy gap between males and females has narrowed from 6.2 years around 30 years ago to 4.1 years in 2018-20.
Life expectancy by country
Australia has the 6th highest life expectancy in the world, according to United Nation statistics. Only Japan, Switzerland, Singapore, Spain and Italy have higher life expectancies. Australia's male life expectancy came 5th in the world and female life expectancy 8th.
Persons
Males
Females
Country
years
rank
years
rank
years
rank
Japan
84.63
(rank 1)
81.50
(rank 4)
87.67
(rank 1)
Switzerland
83.78
(rank 2)
81.87
(rank 1)
85.60
(rank 5)
Singapore
83.62
(rank 3)
81.53
(rank 2)
85.73
(rank 4)
Spain
83.57
(rank 4)
80.83
(rank 10)
86.25
(rank 2)
Italy
83.51
(rank 5)
81.33
(rank 7)
85.54
(rank 6)
Australia
83.44
(rank 6)
81.49
(rank 5)
85.40
(rank 8)
Channel Islands
83.09
(rank 7)
81.17
(rank 8)
84.92
(rank 9)
Republic of Korea
83.03
(rank 8)
79.94
(rank 18)
85.95
(rank 3)
Iceland
82.99
(rank 9)
81.50
(rank 3)
84.49
(rank 15)
Israel
82.97
(rank 10)
81.33
(rank 6)
84.51
(rank 14)
Life expectancy by state
The Australian Capital Territory has the highest life expectancy for both males (76.2 years) and females (81.0 years). The Northern Territory had the lowest: 76.2 for males and 81 for females.
2008-2010
2018-2020
Change over 10 years
State or territory
Males
Females
Males
Females
Males
Females
ACT
80.5
84.7
82.1
85.9
1.6
1.2
Vic.
80
84.3
81.9
85.8
1.9
1.5
WA
79.7
84.3
81.3
85.7
1.6
1.4
NSW
79.6
84.1
81.2
85.4
1.6
1.3
Aust.(a)
79.5
84
81.2
85.3
1.7
1.3
Qld
79.4
83.9
80.6
85.1
1.2
1.2
SA
79.4
83.8
80.7
85.2
1.3
1.4
Tas.
78
82.3
79.9
84.3
1.9
2
NT
74
79.2
76.2
81
2.2
1.8
a. Includes Other Territories.
Indigenous Australian life expectancy
For those of Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander descent, life expectancy is much lower. Indigenous males can expect to live 9 years less than other Australians, while indigenous females have an expected lifespan shorter by 8 years.
Life expectancy at birth fo Indigenous Australians was an estimated 71.6 years for males and 75.6 for females in 2015-17. This is a gap of 8.6 years and 7.8 years compared to non-Indigenous Australians.
Life expectancy has still increased overall for Indigenous Australians. Compared to 2005-2007, lifespans at birth in 2015-2017 increased by 4.4 years for males and 2.7 years for females.
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Does life expectancy affect life insurance?
Yes. Life expectancy provides a forecast for a person's lifespan, and in essence allows insurance companies to weigh up the risk of death, and compensation being paid to beneficiaries.
As you reach certain stages in life, the risk of you dying changes and impacts the estimated years you have left to live. For instance, a 30 year old male born between 2018-20 is forecast to have a lifespan of 81.2 years. For someone born between 1960-62, that number is significantly lower at 67.9.
As a result, policies will be much more the older you get as your risk of death increases and the likelihood of a fund having to fork out compensation sooner grows.
When should I purchase life insurance?
The earlier you get life insurance, the cheaper it is likely to be. If you lock-in level premiums, they won't go up over time.
However, it's probably only worth getting life insurance if you have any financial responsibilities: for example, if you own a house, have a family who depend on you in any financial capacity or you have any debt or loans.
Life expectancy is affected by a number of different factors including:
Your socioeconomic status, including your occupation and income
The quality and access you have to the healthcare system
Health behaviours, including if you smoke or drink excessive amounts of alcohol
Genetics e.g. your family's health history
Lifestyle factors, including how often you exercise and your diet
A higher life expectancy is generally attributed to factors like low infant and child deaths, and also an ageing population due to advancements in the healthcare sector.
The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) assesses the mortality rates from three years worth of data to help alleviate any variations in death rates from year to year.
Life expectancy is calculated with a tool called a life table which is generated from sex and age specific death rates in a given population. These values are used to estimate the likelihood of someone dying before their next birthday.
Yes. Your life expectancy is not set in stone and is calculated using certain factors such as genetics, race and sex. There are, however, plenty of things that you have more control over that are not considered. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle and taking measures to stay safe can play a role in increasing your life expectancy. Likewise, life expectancy can also increase with age. As morbid as it might seem, each year that you live means you have survived multiple potential causes of death.
For example, the life expectancy at birth of someone born in 1950 was 68 years. If that person survived to 60 (in 2010), they could expect to live another 24 years. This means their life expectancy was no longer the same as it was at birth—it was 2 years longer than the life expectancy of people born in 2008—82 years.
Gary Ross Hunter was an editor at Finder, specialising in insurance. He’s been writing about life, travel, home, car, pet and health insurance for over 6 years and regularly appears as an insurance expert in publications including The Sydney Morning Herald, The Guardian and news.com.au. Gary holds a Kaplan Tier 2 General Advice General Insurance certification which meets the requirements of ASIC Regulatory Guide 146 (RG146). See full bio
Gary Ross's expertise
Gary Ross has written 699 Finder guides across topics including:
Cristal Dyer is a travel writer at Finder. She has been writing about travel for over five years and has visited over 40 countries around the world. Cristal currently travels full-time, writing about her favourite cities and food finds, and she is always on the lookout for amazing flight deals to share. See full bio
BT has grown to become one of the most respected insurance groups in Australia. Find out what is covered under the BT Life Insurance policies and receive a secure quote for cover from an insurance consultant.
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