Life expectancy in Romania, one of the lowest in the EU

Romania ranks at the bottom of the ranking when it comes to life expectancy, according to the latest data updated, on Friday, by the Community statistics agency Eurostat.

Thus, the average age up to which Romanians live is only 76.6 years. Moreover, Romania is exceeded in this chapter only by Latvia, with an average of 75.9 years, and by Bulgaria, with 75.8 years.

Life expectancy in Spain, the highest in the EU

Spain is the country in the European Union where people live the longest, reaching an average age of 84 years and exceeding the Community average of 81.5 years.

Immediately after in the ranking follows Italy, where people live, on average, 83.8 years, and Malta, 83.6 years.

However, the most significant increase in life expectancy between 2019 and 2023 was recorded in Romania, where the rate increased by one year.

It was followed by Lithuania (+0.8 years) and Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg and Malta (all with an increase of +0.7 years).

On the other hand, Austria and Finland were the countries with the biggest declines in life expectancy, each losing 0.4 years. Estonia and the Netherlands followed with a decrease of 0.2 years.

People in Eastern Europe live the least

Eastern Europe and the Baltic countries generally have the countries with the lowest life expectancy, while the Mediterranean, Scandinavia and Central Europe have the countries with the highest rate.

Ranking of countries by life expectancy

• Spain (84 years),
• Italy (83.8 years),
• Malta (83.6),
• Sweden (83.4),
• Luxembourg (83.4),
• France (83.1),
• Belgium (82.5),
• Cyprus (82.5),
• Portugal (82.4),
• Netherlands (82),
• Slovenia (82),
• Denmark (81.9),
• Finland (81.7),
• Greece (81.6),
• Austria (81.6),
• Germany (81.2),
• Czech Republic (80);
• Estonia (78.8),
• Croatia (78.8),
• Poland (78.6),
• Slovakia (78.1),
• Lithuania (77.3),
• Hungary (76.9),
• Romania (76.6),
• Latvia (75.9) and Bulgaria (75.8).

Comparing data from 2023 to 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic, shows that up to 18 European countries saw an increase in life expectancy, while Spain remained stable.