Europe: Regions with the highest life expectancy

During the last decade, life expectancy in the EU rose at a relatively consistent pace until 2019, when life expectancy at birth was 81.3 years. Since then, 2020 and 2021 have recorded declines in life expectancy.

In 2021, the overall life expectancy at birth in the EU was 80.1 years. The life expectancy for women in the EU stood at 82.9 years, which was 5.7 years longer than that for men, who averaged 77.2 years.

The largest gender gap was recorded in Latvia, where life expectancy at birth for women was 9.8 years higher. The smallest gender gap was observed in the French outermost region of Mayotte, where life expectancy for women was 2.3 years higher than that for men (72.6 vs 70).

The highest life expectancy at birth for women was in the Spanish capital region of Comunidad de Madrid (88.2 years), followed by five other regions in Spain, France and Italy.

For men, the highest life expectancy was observed in Åland, Finland (82.8 years), followed by regions in Spain and Sweden.

Bulgaria continues to have the lowest life expectancy at birth in the European Union. Women in Bulgaria are expected to live 75.1 years, men - 68.

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/web/products-eurostat-news/w/ddn-20231106-1