Life expectancy in Syria from 1910 to 2020

In 1910, life expectancy from birth in the region of present-day Syria was estimated at 32 years. This figure would see little change until 1935, outside of a brief dip in the late 1910s as the 1918 Spanish Flu epidemic would spread across the area. Life expectancy then began rising sharply from the late 1930s onwards, as modernization programs implemented by French, British and, later, independent authorities saw mass vaccination campaigns and healthcare improvements which greatly reduced child mortality rates. This climb would continue throughout the rest of the 20^th century, and as a result, by 2000, the average person born in Syria could expect to live to over the age of 72.

However, life expectancy would see a sudden fall with the beginning of the Syrian Civil War in 2011. After peaking at just over 74 years in 2010, life expectancy would fall to just under 70 years by 2015, as the country’s civil war would lead to an estimated half a million fatalities, as well as mass displacement and the exodus of refugees from the country. As the fighting has gradually decreased in intensity in recent years, life expectancy of Syria has risen slightly, and in 2020, the average person born in Syria can expect to live to just over 71 years on average; although there is a difference of over eleven years in life expectancy between male and females.