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

At MYRIAD, we examine the statistics of human lives to understand the boundaries of our shared existence. Life expectancy at birth measures how many years a newborn could expect to live, given the mortality of the time and place. For Saudi Arabia, the story across three centuries reveals every value as a statistical fact about the lives actually lived there. In the 2020s, life expectancy at birth in Saudi Arabia stands at 76.9 years, ranking #59 of 157 countries, reflecting the profound transitions of our modern era.

The historical arc of survival spans a remarkably wide horizon across the decades. In the 1800s estimate it was 30.41 years, ticking upward through the 1810s estimate of 30.63, the 1820s estimate of 30.85, the 1830s estimate of 31.07, the 1840s estimate of 31.29, the 1850s estimate of 31.51, the 1860s estimate of 31.73, the 1870s estimate of 31.94, the 1880s estimate of 32.16, and the 1890s estimate of 32.38. By 1900 it was 32.6 years, matching the 1900s estimate of 32.6. From there, steady growth continued through the 1910s estimate of 34.89, the 1920s estimate of 37.17, the 1930s estimate of 39.46, the 1940s estimate of 41.74, the 1950s of 44.03, the 1960s of 49.93, the 1970s of 55.84, the 1980s of 61.74, the 1990s of 67.06, the 2000s of 72.39, and the 2010s of 74.64.

Looking toward the future, projections stretch even further into the 2030s projection of 78.1, the 2040s projection of 79.3, the 2050s projection of 80.5, the 2060s projection of 81.7, the 2070s projection of 82.9, the 2080s projection of 84.1, the 2090s projection of 85.3, and the 2100s projection of 86.5. These numbers map the shifting boundaries of time given to each new generation. Where do YOU rank among everyone ever born?