Thanks to all Gapminders on Facebook for feedback on the previous version!
We have updated the graph with the latest Life Expectancy numbers from IHME!
Click here to download the PDF file. Suitable for print. This chart was produced in December 2016.
This chart shows the Life Expectancy and Income of 182 nations in the year 2015. Each bubble is a country. Size is population. Color is region.
It’s clear in this chart that there is are not two groups of countries. There is no developing vs. developed, rich vs. poor. Instead of labeling countries in two groups, we suggest using the 4 income levels marked on the chart. Remember that next year the countries may change their positions, so let’s not label them, but mention the levels in which they find themselves now.
No country on level 4 has really short life expectancy, and no country on level 1 have long life expectancy. Most people live in the middle, on levels 2 and 3. There are huge differences in life expectancy in the middle, depending on how income is used.
INTERACTIVE TOOL
You can find a free interactive version of this chart at www.gapminder.org/tools, in which you can play historic time series & compare other indicators.
DATA SOURCES
The chart shows last year’s numbers because it takes time for all countries to collect and publish the latest statistics.
LIFE EXPECTANCY: IHME – Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation.
POPULATION: UN World Population Prospects: The 2015 Revision.
INCOME DATA: World Bank’s GDP per capita, PPP (constant 2011 international $), with a few additions by Gapminder. The x-axis uses a log-scale so that doubling incomes show the same distance on all levels.
INCOME LEVELS: Gapminder uses four income groups which roughly correspond to those used by the World Bank, with minor differences. The World Bank uses the indicator GNI per capita in US dollars, while Gapminder uses the indicator GDP per capita in PPP (constant 2011 international $).
CC LICENSE
Our posters are freely available under Creative Commons Attribution License. Please copy, share, modify, integrate and even sell them, as long as you mention ”Based on a free chart from www.gapminder.org”.
