In 2023, life expectancy at birth in the EU was 81.4 years on average, marking an increase of 0.8 years from 2022.
After having declined in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, life expectancy in the bloc has reached values higher than in 2019 for the first time.
This was also the highest recorded value since 2002, reflecting a total increase of 3.8 years.
Spain and Italy presented the longest life expectancy at birth, which has been estimated at 84 and 83.5 years of age respectively, followed by Luxembourg, Malta, and Sweden.
Residents of Greece rank slightly above the life expectancy average of the EU, at 81.8 years, according to the survey published on Friday.
Women in Greece outlive men by 5.2 years
Overall, women outlive men in the EU by an average 5.3 years, with the smallest gender gaps observed in the Netherlands (2.9 years), Ireland (3.3 years), and Sweden (3.4 years) and the largest in Latvia, where women were expected to live 10.0 years longer than men, followed by Estonia and Lithuania (both 8.7 years).
In precise numbers, life expectancy at birth stood at 83.3 years in 2022 for women, up by 0.4 compared with 2021 but down by -0.7 compared with 2019, and for men at 77.9 years, which presents a 0.7 year increase compared with 2021 but a -0.6 decrease compared with 2019.
When it comes to Greece, women are expected to outlive men by 5.2 years on average, with 84.4 against 79.2 years.
In 2023, life expectancy at birth for women was 5.3 years longer than that for men, with variations between EU countries. 👫
🔹Gender gap in life expectancy at birth ranged from: 3.0 years in 🇳🇱 Netherlands to 10.1 years in 🇱🇻Latvia.
Learn more 👉 https://t.co/ghZRBZlYwP pic.twitter.com/0T5qeJTiBi
— EU_Eurostat (@EU_Eurostat) March 14, 2025
EU regions with the highest life expectancy at birth
The survey data have also unveiled the EU regions with the highest life expectancy rates.
The region of Madrid in Spain tops the list with a life expectancy of 85.2 years, boasting a huge gap from runner-up Trento, an autonomous province in northern Italy, where residents are expected to live to 84.4 years.
Two European capitals follow closely in the 3rd and 4th spots; the region of Paris in France with 84.1 years and Stockholm in Sweden with 84.0 years.
A second Spanish entry completes the top five, the autonomous community and province of Navarra, with a life expectancy of 83.9 years.
In 2023, life expectancy at birth in the EU was 81.4 years, an increase of 0.8 years from 2022. 📈👨👩👧
Highest life expectancy in:
🇪🇸Comunidad de Madrid (86.1 years)Lowest in:
🇧🇬Severozapaden (73.9 years)Learn more 👉 https://t.co/ghZRBZlYwP pic.twitter.com/ndldj4TvAK
— EU_Eurostat (@EU_Eurostat) March 14, 2025
On the other hand, among the five EU regions with the lowest life expectancy at birth, four were in Bulgaria (Severozapaden, Severen tsentralen, Yugoiztochen, Severoiztochen) and one in Hungary, Észak-Magyarország, with 72.3, 73.2, 73.7 respectively and the last two at 74.1.
In Greece, all prefectures ranked above the EU life expectancy average, with the exception of Eastern Macedonia and Thrace.