… UN Report Shows No Progress Since 2019 Ranking
… Experts Blame Poor Healthcare, Insecurity, Povert
Daud Olatunji
Nigeria has been ranked as the country with the lowest life expectancy in the world, according to the latest United Nations Global Health Report (2025).
The report estimates the country’s average life expectancy at 54.9 years, far below the global average of 73.7 years and the African continental mean.
According to the data, Nigerian men live an average of 54.3 years, while women slightly exceed that at 54.9 years.
The figures place Nigeria behind countries such as Chad (55.2 years) and the Central African Republic (57.7 years) — both long considered among the poorest nations globally.
… No Progress In s Six Years
The latest report paints a grim picture of Nigeria’s health trajectory. In 2019, a similar UN report had placed the country’s life expectancy at about 55 years, ranking it the third lowest globally at the time.
Six years later, the data show no significant improvement, even as several other African nations have recorded steady progress in health outcomes and social development.
The UN report also highlights Nigeria’s rapidly growing population — rising from 54.7 million in 1969 to over 200 million in 2019 — with 44 per cent of citizens below 14 years and 32 per cent aged between 10 and 24 years.
Experts say this youthful population, though potentially advantageous, poses severe strain on the nation’s healthcare, education, and employment systems.
… Experts Link Poor Ranking To Weak Systems
Health analysts have attributed Nigeria’s dismal performance to a combination of weak healthcare infrastructure, recurrent strikes by health workers, and limited access to quality medical care, especially in rural areas.
They also point to worsening poverty levels, malnutrition, insecurity, and environmental degradation as major contributors to early mortality and declining public health standards.
A public health expert, Dr. Tunde Ayoola, described the report as “a wake-up call that underscores the failure of decades of poor health planning and governance.”
“When citizens have to choose between food and healthcare, life expectancy will remain stagnant. Without urgent and sustained reforms in our health system, this trend will only worsen,” Ayoola said.
…. Call For Urgent Policy Action
The UN report comes amid growing global concern about health inequality and unequal access to healthcare resources.
Public health advocates have urged both the federal and state governments to prioritize investment in healthcare infrastructure, disease prevention, and social protection programmes that address the root causes of poor health outcomes.
They warn that unless Nigeria urgently tackles its deep-rooted structural and socio-economic problems, millions of its citizens will continue to live shorter, unhealthier lives.
SOURCE : Premium Times
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