Spain has the highest life expectancy of all countries in the European Union, with a life expectancy of 83.2 years at birth, ahead of Sweden (83.1 years) and Luxembourg (83.0) years, data from Eurostat has found.
According to 2022 data, life expectancy at birth in the European Union stood at 80.6 years, up 0.5 years on 2021, however down slightly on the two-decade high of 81.3 years reported in 2019.
Other countries to have a high life expectancy include Italy (82.8 years), Ireland (82.6 years), Malta (82.4 years), France (82.3 years), Belgium (81.8 years) and Portugal (81.8 years).
At the other end of the spectrum, Bulgaria boasts the lowest life expectancy of all EU member states, at 74.2 years, followed by Latvia (74.5 years), Romania (75.1 years) and Lithuania (75.8 years).
UPDATE: Data for 2023 indicated that life expectancy across the European Union increased to 81.4 years, a 0.8 year increase on the 2022 data.
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Life expectancy by region
On a regional basis, the EU region with the highest life expectancy at birth is 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).
Life expectancy at birth for women in the EU is 5.4 years longer than that for men, on average, however there are variations between EU countries. In Latvia, for example, women are expected to live 10.0 years longer than men, followed by Estonia and Lithuania (both 8.7 years longer).
| Country | Age |
|---|---|
| Spain | 83.2 |
| Sweden | 83.1 |
| Luxembourg | 83.0 |
| Italy | 82.8 |
| Ireland | 82.6 |
| Malta | 82.4 |
| France | 82.3 |
| Belgium | 81.8 |
| Portugal | 81.8 |
| Netherlands | 81.7 |
| Cyprus | 81.6 |
| Austria | 81.4 |
| Denmark | 81.3 |
| Slovenia | 81.3 |
| Finland | 81.2 |
| Greece | 80.8 |
| Germany | 80.7 |
| Czechia | 79.0 |
| Estonia | 78.1 |
| Croatia | 77.7 |
| Poland | 77.2 |
| Slovakia | 77.0 |
| Hungary | 76.0 |
| Lithuania | 75.8 |
| Romania | 75.1 |
| Latvia | 74.5 |
| Bulgaria | 74.2 |
