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

At MYRIAD, we examine the statistics of human lives to understand the shape 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 Zimbabwe, this metric tells a profound story of changing realities across three centuries, where every value is a statistical fact about the lives actually lived there.

Across the decades, the historical arc reveals a gradual shift. In the 1800s estimate it stood at 27 years, ticking upward very slowly through the 1810s estimate at 27.1, the 1820s estimate at 27.2, the 1830s estimate at 27.3, the 1840s estimate at 27.4, the 1850s estimate at 27.5, the 1860s estimate at 27.6, the 1870s estimate at 27.7, the 1880s estimate at 27.8, and the 1890s estimate at 27.9. By 1900 it was 28 years, matching the 1900s estimate. Growth continued steadily through the 1910s estimate at 29.6, the 1920s estimate at 31.2, the 1930s estimate at 32.8, the 1940s estimate at 34.4, the 1950s at 36, the 1960s at 40, the 1970s at 44, the 1980s at 48, the 1990s at 49, the 2000s at 50, and the 2010s at 56.

In the 2020s, life expectancy at birth in Zimbabwe stands at 62 years — ranking #156 of 157 countries. Looking ahead, the trajectory points toward the 2030s projection of 63.2, the 2040s projection of 64.4, the 2050s projection of 65.6, the 2060s projection of 66.8, the 2070s projection of 68, the 2080s projection of 69.2, the 2090s projection of 70.4, and the 2100s projection of 71.6. These figures define the horizons available to a newborn entering the world across different eras. Where do YOU rank among everyone ever born? →