Poland vs South Africa: Potential years of life lost

Poland
5,991 Years per 100 000 persons
in 2024
South Africa
17,551 Years per 100 000 persons
in 2020
Poland rank
4th
South Africa rank
1st

Potential years of life lost over time

  • Poland
  • South Africa
10.0k20.0k30.0k40.0k196019922024

How they compare

South Africa currently reports 17,551 Years per 100 000 persons against 5,991 Years per 100 000 persons in Poland, a difference of 11,560 Years per 100 000 persons.

That makes South Africa's figure about 2.9 times Poland's.

Across all 26 years both countries report, South Africa has been ahead every year.

Poland ranks 4th and South Africa ranks 1st of 7 groups.

South Africa has averaged higher in every one of the 4 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Poland South Africa Difference Ahead
1990s 10,664 Years per 100 000 persons 19,449 Years per 100 000 persons 8,784 Years per 100 000 persons South Africa
2000s 8,551 Years per 100 000 persons 34,201 Years per 100 000 persons 25,650 Years per 100 000 persons South Africa
2010s 6,916 Years per 100 000 persons 22,045 Years per 100 000 persons 15,129 Years per 100 000 persons South Africa
2020s 7,166 Years per 100 000 persons 17,551 Years per 100 000 persons 10,385 Years per 100 000 persons South Africa

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher potential years of life lost, Poland or South Africa?
South Africa, at 17,551 Years per 100 000 persons against 5,991 Years per 100 000 persons in Poland as of 2020.
What is the difference in potential years of life lost between Poland and South Africa?
11,560 Years per 100 000 persons, with South Africa ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Poland and South Africa?
26 years are reported by both, from 1993 to 2020.
How do Poland and South Africa rank globally for potential years of life lost?
Poland ranks 4th and South Africa ranks 1st of 7 groups.
Where does this data come from?
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as Potential years of life lost. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Poland vs South Africa: Potential years of life lost. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 23 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/potential-years-of-life-lost/poland-2/south-africa/

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About this data

Indicator
Potential years of life lost
Unit
Years per 100 000 persons
Source
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
Licence
OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required)
Coverage
46 places, 2,490 data points, 1960–2024
Last refreshed

Potential Years of Life Lost (PYLL) is a summary measure of premature mortality which provides an explicit way of weighting deaths occurring at younger ages, which are, a priori, preventable. The calculation of PYLL involves summing up deaths occurring at each age and multiplying this with the number of remaining years to live up to a selected age limit. The limit of 75 years has been chosen for the calculations in OECD Health Statistics. The selected ICD categories presented in the OECD Health Statistics database are detailed in an Excel file available for download, with codes according to the Tenth revision of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD) along with codes from other ICD revisions used in the WHO Mortality Database. Please refer to the Sources and Methods for detailed country-specific information.