October 28, 2024 Life expectancy at birth dropped significantly across the world in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, rates are now returning to pre-pandemic levels. The chart shows this rebound, based on the latest estimates from the UN’s World Population Prospects. Global life expectancy in 2022 matched the 2019 figure at 72.6 years. And it increased again in 2023, to 73.2 years.