The most recent estimate by the CIA world factbook gives Swaziland as the lowest, with an average of 31.99 years. This dates from 2009; however, recent estimates still put Swaziland at the bottom of the table, with, if anything, a slightly lower life expectancy than in 2009. The second lowest is Angola at 37.92, and until very recently Angola was officially the world's shortest-lived country. In both of these countries, a high rate of child mortality brings the average down.

Swaziland is an extremely poor country, with more than half of its largely farming population living on little more than a dollar a day; but the main reason for the drop in life expectancy is probably the very high rate of HIV infection and AIDS. It is currently the highest in the world and the survival of the nation is said to be under threat because of it.