Which Country Has the Shortest Life Expectancy?

The country that has the shortest life expectancy is Angola, where the average life expectancy is 38 years. The short life expectancy in Angola results from a combination of cholera, malaria and rabies epidemics; guerrilla infighting; and minefields remaining from civil wars. Angola scores consistently low in the Ibrahim Index of African Governance, although its does score higher than countries such as Somalia and Chad.

More facts on life expectancy:

• The countries with the highest life expectancies are Macau, Andorra and Japan, each of which have an average life expectancy of more than 82 years.


• The average life expectancy in the world is 61 years.


• The average life expectancy in the U.S. is 78 years, which ranks 49th out of 224 countries considered.