This statistic shows the average life expectancy in Europe for those born in 2024, by gender and region. The average life expectancy in Western Europe was 79 years for males and 84 years for females in 2024. Additional information on European life expectancy The difference in life expectancy seen between men and women across all European regions is in line with the global trends of women outliving men, on average. The average life expectancy at birth worldwide by income group shows that the gender life expectancy gap is not only a consistent trend across countries, but also income groups. Moreover, the higher life expectancy for those in high income groups may help to explain the lower average life expectancy for those born in Eastern Europe where average incomes are generally lower than other European regions. Although income and length of life are not directly correlated, higher income individuals are generally able to afford access to superior nutrition and healthcare as well as having leisure time for exercise. That said, current trends in the increases in life expectancy worldwide by country between 1970 and 2017 suggest economic growth will lead to larger increases in life expectancy. Those increases are less likely to occur to such a degree in the more developed regions of Europe where Italy, Spain, France, Switzerland, Iceland and Austria all rank in the top 20 countries with the highest life expectancy.

In 2024, life expectancy at birth in Europe was 79 years, compared with the low of 62.8 in 1950 and 1951. During this time period, life expectancy increased fastest between the 1950s and mid 1960s, with the rate of improvement slowing since then.

The mean number of years still to be lived by a person at birth, if subjected throughout the rest of his or her life to the current mortality conditions.

Graph and download economic data for Life Expectancy at Birth, Total for the European Union (SPDYNLE00INEUU) from 1960 to 2023 about life expectancy, EU, life, birth, and Europe.

Eurostat’s annual data collections on demographic statistics are structured as follows:

NOWCAST: Annual data collection on provisional monthly data on live births and deaths covering at least six months of the reference year (Article 4.3 of the Commission implementing regulation (EU) No 205/2014).

DEMOBAL (Demographic balance): Annual data collection on provisional data on population, total live births and total deaths at national level (Article 4.1 of the Commission implementing regulation (EU) No 205/2014).

POPSTAT (Population Statistics): The most in-depth annual national and regional demographic and migration data collection. The data relate to populations, births, deaths, immigrants, emigrants, marriages and divorces, and is broken down into several categories (Article 3 of Regulation (EU) No 1260/2013 and Article 3 of Regulation (EC) No 862/2007).

The aim is to collect annual mandatory and voluntary demographic data from the national statistical institutes. Mandatory data are those defined by the legislation listed under ‘6.1. Institutional mandate - legal acts and other agreements’.

The completeness of the demographic data collected on a voluntary basis depends on the availability and completeness of information provided by the national statistical institutes. For more information on mandatory/voluntary data collection, see 6.1. Institutional mandate - legal acts and other agreements’.

The following statistics on deaths are collected from the National Statistical Institutes:

• Deaths by month of occurrence
• Deaths by age, year of birth, sex and by:
  • Region (NUTS 2) of residence;
  • Region (NUTS 3) of residence;
  • Country of birth;
  • Country of citizenship;
  • Legal marital status;
  • Educational attainment (ISCED 2011).
• Infant deaths by age and sex;
• Infant deaths by parents' level of educational attainment (ISCED);
• Late foetal deaths by mother's age.

Statistics on mortality: based on the different breakdowns of data on deaths received, Eurostat produces the following:

• Statistics available in the online table Population change - Demographic balance and crude rates at national level (demo_gind):
  • Natural change of population, crude death rate.
• Statistics available in the online table Infant mortality rates (demo_find):
  • Infant mortality rate;
  • Neonatal mortality rate;
  • Early neonatal mortality rate;
  • Late foetal mortality rate;
  • Perinatal mortality rate.
• Life table (demo_mlifetable);
• Life expectancy by age and sex (demo_mlexpec);
• Life expectancy by age, sex and educational attainment (ISCED 2011) (demo_mlexpecedu).

https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/cache/metadata/en/demo_r_gind3_esms.htm" target="_self">Information about statistics on deaths by NUTS regions.

Life expectancy at birth, total (years) in European Union was reported at 81.41 years in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. European Union - Life expectancy at birth, total (years) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on September of 2025.

In 2024, Albania was the EU candidate country with the highest life expectancy at birth, at 80 years. On the contrary, Moldova was the candidate country with the lowest life expectancy, with a person only expected to live until the age of **.

Mean number of years that a person can expect to live at birth if subjected to current mortality conditions throughout the rest of their life.

As of 2023, the countries with the highest life expectancy included Switzerland, Japan, and Spain. As of that time, a new-born child in Switzerland could expect to live an average of **** years. Around the world, females consistently have a higher average life expectancy than males, with females in Europe expected to live an average of *** years longer than males on this continent. Increases in life expectancy The overall average life expectancy in OECD countries increased by **** years from 1970 to 2019. The countries that saw the largest increases included Turkey, India, and South Korea. The life expectancy at birth in Turkey increased an astonishing 24.4 years over this period. The countries with the lowest life expectancy worldwide as of 2022 were Chad, Lesotho, and Nigeria, where a newborn could be expected to live an average of ** years. Life expectancy in the U.S. The life expectancy in the United States was ***** years as of 2023. Shockingly, the life expectancy in the United States has decreased in recent years, while it continues to increase in other similarly developed countries. The COVID-19 pandemic and increasing rates of suicide and drug overdose deaths from the opioid epidemic have been cited as reasons for this decrease.

Historical dataset showing European Union life expectancy by year from 1960 to 2023.

The average for 2023 based on 27 countries was 80.59 years. The highest value was in Spain: 83.88 years and the lowest value was in Latvia: 75.68 years. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2023. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

The average for 2022 based on 27 countries was 82.82 years. The highest value was in Spain: 85.9 years and the lowest value was in Bulgaria: 78.1 years. The indicator is available from 1960 to 2022. Below is a chart for all countries where data are available.

Life expectancy at birth, male (years) in European Union was reported at 78.81 years in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. European Union - Life expectancy at birth, male (years) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on October of 2025.

EUROPOP2023 are the latest Eurostat long-term population projections produced at national level for 30 countries: all 27 European Union (EU) Member States and three European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries (Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland), covering the time horizon from 2022 to 2100. Population projections are 'what-if scenario' that aim to show the hypothetically developments of the population size and structure based on a set of assumptions regarding fertility, mortality, and net migration. They are presented for a long time period that covers more than a half-century (50 years).

The datasets consist of the baseline population projections and five sensitivity tests, which are described as follows:

• no migration – it is assumed that net migration is zero for each year within the 2023-2100 time horizon;
• lower migration – it is assumed that the net migration is lower due to a 33% reduction in non-EU immigration flows for each year within the 2023-2100 time horizon;
• higher migration – it is assumed that the net migration is higher due to a 33% increase in non-EU immigration flows for each year within the 2023-2100 time horizon;
• lower fertility – it is assumed that the fertility rates are lower 20% than the baseline assumptions for each year within the 2023-2100 time horizon;
• lower mortality – it is assumed that the mortality rates are lower resulting in an increase of approximately two years in life expectancy at birth by 2070 compared to the baseline assumptions.

In each sensitivity test, the assumptions for the year 2022 were maintained as in the baseline projections. This is because, for that year, there is a combination of observed data (i.e. beneficiaries on temporary protections at the end of December 2022), information from the national authorities, and forecasting.

Data are available by single-year time interval, as detailed below:

• Projected population on 1 January by age and sex;
• Assumptions on future age-specific fertility rates, age-specific mortality rates and net migration levels;
• Projected life expectancy by age (in completed years) and sex.

Additionally, the demographic balances and indicators are available for the baseline projections and each of the five sensitive variants, including also:

• Total numbers of the projected live births and deaths;
• Projected population structure indicators including proportions of broad age groups in total population, age dependency ratios and median ages of the population (for each sex component).

STP2024 are the short-term population projections covering the time horizon from 2023 to 2050, and produced at national level for 30 countries: all 27 European Union (EU) Member States and three European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries (Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland). Similar to long-term projections, these are 'what-if scenario' that aim to show the hypothetically developments of the population size and structure based on a set of assumptions regarding fertility, mortality and net migration. The latest demographic data published on Eurostat website, as of 06 September 2024, were used as input in building the assumptions, thereby including the published post-2021 census revisions and data related to the temporary protection granted to persons displaced from Ukraine due to Russia's invasion.

The dataset (proj_stp24) includes data by single-year time interval for two types of projections:

• Baseline projections:
  • Projected total population on 1 January, the working-age population (defined as persons aged from 15 to 74), and its share in the total population;
  • Assumptions on total fertility rates, life expectancy at birth by sex, and total net migration levels;
  • Total numbers of projected live births and deaths.

• No migration sensitivity test – it is assumed that the net migration is zero for each year within the 2024-2050 time horizon.
  • Projected total population on 1 January, the working-age population (defined as persons aged from 15to 74), and its share in the total population;
  • The 2023 net migration levels remain the same as in the baseline projections to reflect the nowcast data;
  • Total numbers of projected live births and deaths.

STP2025 are the latest short-term population projections covering the time horizon from 2024 to 2050, produced at national level for 30 countries: all 27 European Union (EU) Member States and three European Free Trade Association (EFTA) countries (Iceland, Norway, and Switzerland). Similar to long-term projections, these are 'what-if scenario' that aim to show the hypothetically developments of the population size and structure based on a set of assumptions regarding fertility, mortality, and net migration. The latest demographic data published on Eurostat website as of 15 May 2025, were used as input in building the assumptions, thereby including the published post-2021 census revisions and data related to temporary protection granted to persons displaced from Ukraine due to Russia's invasion.

The dataset (proj_stp25) includes data by single-year time interval for two types of projections:

• Baseline projections:
  • Projected total population on 1 January, working-age population (15-74 years) and its share in the total population;
  • Assumptions on total fertility rates, life expectancy at birth by sex, and total net migration levels;
  • Total numbers of projected live births and deaths.

• No migration sensitivity test – it is assumed that the net migration is zero in each year of the 2025-2050 time horizon.
  • Projected total population on 1 January, working-age population (15-74 years) and its share in the total population;
  • The 2024 net migration levels remain as in the baseline projections to reflect the nowcast data;
  • Total numbers of projected live births and deaths.

This dataset shows the life expectancy at regional level for 2011.

Life expectancy in the EU, which is a reflection of well-being, is among the highest in the world. Of the 50 countries in the world with the highest life expectancy in 2012, 21 were EU Member States, 18 of which had a higher life expectancy than the US. Differences between regions in the EU are marked. Life expectancy at birth is less than 74 in many partsof Bulgaria as well as in Latvia and Lithuania, while overall across the EU it is over 80 years in two out of every three regions. In 17 regions in Spain, France and Italy, it is 83 years or more.

EU-28 = 80.3 . BE, IT, UK: 2010. Source: Eurostat

Graph and download economic data for Life Expectancy at Birth, Total for Developing Countries in Europe and Central Asia (SPDYNLE00INECA) from 1960 to 2023 about Central Asia, life expectancy, birth, life, and Europe.

This dataset contains healthy life expectancy and disability-free life expectancy by gender, from birth and age 65.

Health life expectancy is defined as the average number of years a person aged 'x' would live in good/fairly good health if he or she experiences the particular area's age-specific mortality and health rates throughout their life.

Disability-free life expectancy is defined as the average number of years a person aged 'x' would live disability-free (no limiting long-term illness) if he or she experienced the particular area's age-specific mortality and health rates throughout their life.

The estimates are calculated by combining age and sex specific mortality rates, with age and sex specific rates on general health and limiting long-term illness.

For more information see the ONS website: https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/healthandsocialcare/healthandlifeexpectancies

In 2020, France had the highest life expectancy at age 65 among European countries, at 21.2 years, followed by Iceland at 21.1 and Norway at 21. Bulgaria had the lowest life expectancy at 65, of 15.2 years, with Romania and Georgia both having 15.7 years.

Life expectancy at birth, female (years) in European Union was reported at 84.16 years in 2023, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. European Union - Life expectancy at birth, female (years) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on September of 2025.

This European Census dataset covers data on population, fertility, as well as life expectancy in the recent years or projected to 2050. It arranges Europe into 11 types of regions according to different ways of classification.