Statizoid

Potential years of life lost in South Africa

South Africa: Potential years of life lost was 17,551 Years per 100 000 persons in 2020. β–Ό Falling

Latest (2020)
17,551 Years per 100 000 persons
Change on year
down 1.3%
World rank
1st
of 36 countries
All-time high
37,833 Years per 100 000 persons
in 2006
All-time low
16,246 Years per 100 000 persons
in 1993
Years of data
28
1993–2020

Potential years of life lost in South Africa, 1993–2020

010.0k20.0k30.0k40.0k1993200620201993: 16.2k Years per 100 000 persons1994: 18.8k Years per 100 000 persons1995: 19.3k Years per 100 000 persons1996: 18.4k Years per 100 000 persons1997: 20.0k Years per 100 000 persons1998: 23.0k Years per 100 000 persons1999: 24.4k Years per 100 000 persons2000: 26.6k Years per 100 000 persons2001: 29.1k Years per 100 000 persons2002: 32.3k Years per 100 000 persons2003: 35.6k Years per 100 000 persons2004: 36.8k Years per 100 000 persons2005: 37.8k Years per 100 000 persons2006: 37.8k Years per 100 000 persons2007: 36.9k Years per 100 000 persons2008: 36.5k Years per 100 000 persons2009: 32.6k Years per 100 000 persons2010: 30.1k Years per 100 000 persons2011: 26.9k Years per 100 000 persons2012: 24.8k Years per 100 000 persons2013: 22.2k Years per 100 000 persons2014: 21.1k Years per 100 000 persons2015: 20.5k Years per 100 000 persons2016: 20.0k Years per 100 000 persons2017: 19.0k Years per 100 000 persons2018: 18.0k Years per 100 000 persons2019: 17.8k Years per 100 000 persons2020: 17.6k Years per 100 000 persons

Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Years per 100 000 persons.

Analysis

In 2020, potential years of life lost in South Africa stood at 17,551 Years per 100 000 persons.

That represents a change of down 1.3% on the previous year and down 41.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, potential years of life lost in South Africa peaked at 37,833 Years per 100 000 persons in 2006 and was at its lowest, 16,246 Years per 100 000 persons, in 1993.

That places South Africa 1st out of 36 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 28 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 20,033 Years per 100 000 persons 16,246 Years per 100 000 persons 24,417 Years per 100 000 persons 7
2000s 34,201 Years per 100 000 persons 26,567 Years per 100 000 persons 37,833 Years per 100 000 persons 10
2010s 22,045 Years per 100 000 persons 17,784 Years per 100 000 persons 30,107 Years per 100 000 persons 10
2020s 17,551 Years per 100 000 persons 17,551 Years per 100 000 persons 17,551 Years per 100 000 persons 1

Countries ranked near South Africa

  1. 2 Russia 10,769 Years per 100 000 persons compare
  2. 3 Mexico 8,732 Years per 100 000 persons compare
  3. 4 Brazil 8,314 Years per 100 000 persons compare

See the full ranking of 46 places β†’

More reference data data for South Africa

All data for South Africa β†’

Frequently asked questions

What is potential years of life lost in South Africa?
Potential years of life lost in South Africa was 17,551 Years per 100 000 persons in 2020, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
What is the highest potential years of life lost recorded in South Africa?
The highest recorded value was 37,833 Years per 100 000 persons in 2006.
What is the lowest potential years of life lost recorded in South Africa?
The lowest recorded value was 16,246 Years per 100 000 persons in 1993.
How does South Africa rank for potential years of life lost?
South Africa ranks 1st out of 36 countries with data for 2020.
Is potential years of life lost rising or falling in South Africa?
Over the last ten years it is down 41.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this South Africa data come from?
The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Potential years of life lost. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Potential years of life lost in South Africa. Statizoid, drawing on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Retrieved 20 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/potential-years-of-life-lost/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.