EU, life expectancy increases: 81.5 years average at birth

Brussels – Good news for EU citizens: in 2023, life expectancy at birth in the EU was 81.5 years, up 0.9 years from 2022 and 0.2 years from the pre-pandemic level in 2019, data released by Eurostat today (May 3) showed. In 15 out of 27 countries, life expectancy exceeded the EU average, with the highest expectancy recorded in Spain (84.0 years), Italy (83.8 years), and Malta (83.6 years). On the opposite side, the lowest life expectancy at birth is in Bulgaria (75.8 years), Latvia (75.9), and Romania (76.6).

The European Statistical Office focuses on the change compared with the health crisis. Compared to the pre-pandemic level in 2019, 18 EU countries saw an increase in life expectancy in 2023, while two countries remained stable (Spain and Croatia), and six saw a decrease (Austria, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, and the Netherlands). The largest increase was estimated in Romania (+ 1.0 years), followed by Lithuania (+0.8 years), Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Luxembourg, and Malta (all with an increase of +0.7 years). Austria and Finland recorded the biggest decreases (-0.4 years each), followed by Estonia and the Netherlands (-0.2 years).