“In 2022, the life expectancy at birth in the EU was 80.6 years, up by 0.5 years from 2021. Over two decades, since 2002, the highest value was recorded in 2019 when life expectancy at birth reached 81.3 years”. This is according to a study published today by Eurostat, the European Union’s Statistical Office. “However, after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, this indicator declined to 80.4 in 2020 and to 80.1 years in 2021”.
The EU region with the highest life expectancy at birth was the Spanish region of Comunidad de Madrid (85.2 years), followed by Provincia Autonoma di Trento in Italy (84.4 years), Ile de France in France (84.1 years), Stockholm in Sweden (84.0 years), and Comunidad Foral de Navarra in Spain (83.9 years).
On the other hand, among 5 EU regions with the lowest life expectancy at birth, 4 were in Bulgaria: Severozapaden (72.3 years), Severen tsentralen (73.2 years), Yugoiztochen (73.7 years), Severoiztochen (74.1 years); and one in Hungary, Észak-Magyarország (74.1 years).
For women in the EU, life expectancy at birth was 83.3 years in 2022 (up 0.4 years compared to 2021 but down -0.7 years compared to 2019) and 77.9 for men (up 0.7 years from 2021 but down -0.6). In Latvia, women were expected to live 10.0 years longer than men, followed by Estonia and Lithuania (both 8.7 years). The smallest gender gaps were in the Netherlands (2.9 years), Ireland (3.3 years), and Sweden (3.4 years).