Life Expectancy at Birth in France: 1800 to Today (and Tomorrow)

When you examine life expectancy at birth in France across three centuries, you are looking at how many years a newborn could expect to live, given the mortality of the time and place. Every value is a statistical fact about the lives actually lived there. The data traces a profound transformation in human survival, moving from eras where very early death was commonplace to a modern reality where reaching advanced age is increasingly the norm.

The historical arc unfolds steadily decade by decade. In the 1800s estimate it stood at 34.48 years, climbing gradually through the 1810s estimate at 35.42 years, the 1820s estimate at 36.35 years, the 1830s estimate at 37.29 years, the 1840s estimate at 38.22 years, the 1850s estimate at 39.16 years, the 1860s estimate at 40.09 years, the 1870s estimate at 41.03 years, the 1880s estimate at 41.97 years, the 1890s estimate at 42.9 years, and reaching the 1900s estimate at 43.84 years. In 1900 it was 43.84 years. Progress continued through the 1910s estimate at 48.19 years, the 1920s estimate at 52.53 years, the 1930s estimate at 56.88 years, the 1940s estimate at 61.23 years, the 1950s at 65.58 years, the 1960s at 68.44 years, the 1970s at 71.3 years, the 1980s at 74.16 years, the 1990s at 75.9 years, the 2000s at 77.64 years, and the 2010s at 79.92 years.

For anyone born in the 2020s, life expectancy at birth in France stands at 82.2 years, ranking #11 of 157 countries. Looking ahead, the trajectory continues upward through the 2030s projection at 83.4 years, the 2040s projection at 84.6 years, the 2050s projection at 85.8 years, the 2060s projection at 87 years, the 2070s projection at 88.2 years, the 2080s projection at 89.4 years, the 2090s projection at 90.6 years, and the 2100s projection at 91.8 years. Where do YOU rank among everyone ever born? →