Russia vs South Africa: Potential years of life lost

Russia
10,769 Years per 100 000 persons
in 2019
South Africa
17,551 Years per 100 000 persons
in 2020
Russia rank
2nd
South Africa rank
1st

Potential years of life lost over time

  • Russia
  • South Africa
10.0k20.0k30.0k40.0k198020002020

How they compare

South Africa currently reports 17,551 Years per 100 000 persons against 10,769 Years per 100 000 persons in Russia, a difference of 6,782 Years per 100 000 persons.

That makes South Africa's figure about 1.6 times Russia's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 27 shared years of data; in 1993 it was Russia ahead.

Russia ranks 2nd and South Africa ranks 1st of 36 countries.

Across the 3 decades both report, Russia averaged higher in 1 and South Africa in 2.

Head to head by decade

Decade Russia South Africa Difference Ahead
1990s 36,325 Years per 100 000 persons 20,033 Years per 100 000 persons 16,292 Years per 100 000 persons Russia
2000s 19,179 Years per 100 000 persons 34,201 Years per 100 000 persons 15,021 Years per 100 000 persons South Africa
2010s 12,964 Years per 100 000 persons 22,045 Years per 100 000 persons 9,081 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, Russia or South Africa?
South Africa, at 17,551 Years per 100 000 persons against 10,769 Years per 100 000 persons in Russia as of 2020.
What is the difference in potential years of life lost between Russia and South Africa?
6,782 Years per 100 000 persons, with South Africa ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Russia and South Africa?
27 years are reported by both, from 1993 to 2019.
How do Russia and South Africa rank globally for potential years of life lost?
Russia ranks 2nd and South Africa ranks 1st of 36 countries.
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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Russia vs South Africa: Potential years of life lost. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 27 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/potential-years-of-life-lost/russian-federation/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.