The COVID-19 pandemic led to a large number of deaths.

The number of deaths in 2020 was around 5 million higher than in 2019. In 2021, there were an additional 10 million.

This led to a significant drop in life expectancy across the world. But, rates are now returning to pre-pandemic levels. You can see this rebound in the chart below.

Globally, life expectancy in 2022 roughly matched the rate in 2019. And it increased again in 2023.

Hannah Ritchie and Lucas Rodés-Guirao (2024) - “Peak global population and other key findings from the 2024 UN World Population Prospects” Published online at OurWorldinData.org. Retrieved from: 'https://ourworldindata.org/un-population-2024-revision' [Online Resource]