A group of older people sharing a laugh.

According to preliminary 2023 data, life expectancy at birth in the EU was 81.5 years, up by 0.9 years from 2022, and 0.2 years compared with the pre-pandemic level in 2019. 

This information comes from the provisional data on life expectancy published by Eurostat today. 

In 15 countries, life expectancy exceeded the EU average, with the highest life expectancy recorded for Spain (84.0 years), Italy (83.8 years) and Malta (83.6 years). 

In contrast, the lowest life expectancy was recorded for Bulgaria (75.8 years), Latvia (75.9) and Romania (76.6).

Source dataset: demo_mlexpec

When compared with the pre-pandemic level in 2019, 18 EU countries experienced an increase in life expectancy in 2023, while 2 countries remained stable, and 6 saw a decrease. The largest increase has been estimated in Romania (+1.0 year), followed by Lithuania (+0.8 years), Bulgaria, Czechia, Luxembourg and Malta (all with a rise of +0.7 years). 

Conversely, Austria and Finland recorded the largest decreases (-0.4 years each), followed by Estonia and the Netherlands (-0.2 years).

Change in life expectancy at birth, 2023 compared with 2019, years. Chart. See link to full dataset below.

Source dataset: demo_mlexpec
 

For more information

Methodological notes

  • Life expectancy at birth is the average number of years that a newborn child would live if subjected to current mortality conditions (the death rates observed for the current period) throughout the rest of their life.
  • It should be kept in mind that life expectancy is a period indicator of mortality, indicating the average life span in a population subject to the mortality rates of the selected period of time. This means that the life span estimated above would apply if the mortality conditions observed in 2023 will last for all the following years until the extinction of the cohort born in 2023. 
  • For more methodological information on the provisional estimates of life expectancy from weekly deaths data see Eurostat Statistical Working Paper.
  • The 2023 provisional estimates are based on weekly deaths data extracted on 30 April 2024. For specific information on the 2023 provisional estimates see the annexes in the Eurostat metadata on mortality.

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