World Life Expectancy Map — Live World Bank Data
Quick answer: This is a live world life expectancy map: expected years of life at birth for every country with a World Bank observation, from 1990 to the latest year, loaded straight from the World Bank API.
About this dataset
Life expectancy at birth for every country on an interactive map, read live from the World Bank Indicators API for every year since 1990.
Explore how long people live around the world on an interactive life expectancy map. Values are life expectancy at birth in years from the World Bank Indicators API, joined to country boundaries in the browser, so nothing is downloaded or hosted. The year slider makes the last three decades of global convergence visible — and the countries where progress stalled or reversed. Click any country for its full history curve, and switch to fertility rate to see the two trends that drive population change.
Data source: World Bank Indicators API
How to download
- 1 This dataset has no hosted file: the map reads the World Bank API directly in your browser.
- 2 Use the indicator API link for the raw JSON series, or the World Bank page for CSV and bulk download.
- 3 Country boundaries come from Natural Earth 50m and are joined on ISO 3166-1 alpha-3.
- 4 Open any of those URLs in GeoDataViewer Studio to explore them as layers.
FAQ
Does this dataset need to be downloaded?
No. The World Bank Indicators API allows cross-origin requests, so the map reads it live in your browser and joins it to Natural Earth boundaries. Nothing is hosted by GeoDataViewer and there is no file to download.
How current is the data?
The map requests every year from 1990 to 2026 on each load, so it shows the latest revision the World Bank has published.
What does life expectancy at birth mean?
The number of years a newborn would live if current age-specific mortality rates stayed the same throughout their life (World Bank indicator SP.DYN.LE00.IN). It is a snapshot of mortality conditions, not a prediction for an individual.
Why did life expectancy fall in some countries?
Conflicts, epidemics and economic collapse can reverse decades of progress. Use the year slider to find the dips and click a country to see them on its history curve.