Which European countries can boast long-livers - research
Kyiv • UNN
Eurostat reported a record life expectancy in the EU – 81.4 years. The longest life expectancy is in Spain (Madrid), Italy (Trento) and the Åland Islands, and the shortest is in Bulgaria.
Eurostat on Friday, March 14, according to which life expectancy in the European Union has increased to the highest level in history. At the same time, it is noted that the study revealed a significant gap in these indicators between Western and Eastern Europe, UNN reports with reference to Politico.
According to the published data collected in 2023, the expected average life expectancy in the EU is now 81.4 years. This means an overall increase of 3.8 years since data registration began in 2002.
At the same time, the figures show a sharp gap between the western and eastern parts of Europe, as most people born west of the former "Iron Curtain" can expect to live longer than 80 years, while some regions in eastern countries lag behind these figures with a life expectancy of about 75 years.
Regions with the highest life expectancy:
- the capital of Spain, Madrid (86.1 years);
- followed by the Trento region in northern Italy (85.1 years);
- Åland Islands between Sweden and Finland (85.1 years).
On the other hand, the north-western region of Bulgaria had the lowest life expectancy – 73.9 years, followed by the north-eastern districts of Hungary and the EU's outermost region – the French island of Mayotte off the coast of Madagascar – 74.9 years.
Several other regions of Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary, as well as Latvia, lag behind southern Europeans in life expectancy by almost 10 years.
Perhaps the Mediterranean diet played a role in this.
Another striking gap is the gender gap, as women are recorded to live five years longer than men.
- The gender gap was the largest in the Baltic countries;
Women in Latvia live an average of 10 years longer than men.
- followed by Lithuania (9 years);
- Estonia (8.8 years).
The smallest gender gap is in the Netherlands – three years.
Addition
Life expectancy may have decreased across Europe during the Covid-19 pandemic, but gains in life expectancy had been decreasing for nearly a decade before that. A report published in The Lancet Public Health shows that improvements in life expectancy in Europe have slowed since 2011.
In developed countries, people sleep 45 minutes longer than in less technologically advanced countries. On average, more than seven hours a night. However, this improvement in sleep quality has its price, namely the disruption of natural biological rhythms.
