Life expectancy at birth is the single most useful health statistic. Monaco, Japan, and Hong Kong all lead the world above 84 years. Chad, Lesotho, and the Central African Republic sit at the bottom around 53 years — a thirty-year gap between the best-off and worst-off populations on Earth.

Why the ranking is sometimes surprising

Cuba and the United States have nearly identical life expectancies (~79) despite vastly different per-capita health spending. Spain edges out Switzerland and Australia. The Russian male life expectancy is dramatically lower than the female — one of the largest gender gaps in the world, largely driven by alcohol-related mortality. Costa Rica beats the US by two years on a quarter of the spend.