Life expectancy in the southern part of the country falls south of the rest of Ireland

The life expectancy for women in the EU stood at 82.9 years, which was 5.7 years longer than that for men, who averaged 77.2 years, according to Eurostat. File picture

Living down south in Ireland will shave about six months off your average life expectancy compared to your eastern counterparts, while Madrid seems to have discovered the best secret to long life.

According to the latest figures from the European Commission's data analysis wing Eurostat, the the overall life expectancy at birth in the EU is just over 80 years. 

Men have a lot of catching up to do compared to women, however, with a life expectancy gap that is nearly six years shorter. The life expectancy for women in the EU stood at 82.9 years, which was 5.7 years longer than that for men, who averaged 77.2 years, according to Eurostat.

In Ireland, men in the south can expect to live to just over 80 on average, while women are ahead again with an average of 83.8 years at the moment. 

In the eastern and middle part of the country, men can expect to live to 80.7 years while women can expect 84.3 years. In the west and north, men on average will reach 80.5 years while women will get to just under 85.

The region around the Spanish capital of Madrid sees the longest life expectancy in Europe, with women expected to live just beyond 88, while men are six years behind at 82. Spain in general is the best place to be for a long life as a woman, with five other regions—Comunidad Foral de Navarra, Castilla y León, Cantabria, Galicia, and País Vasco—all reaching at least 87 on average.

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Outside of Spain, the next highest levels of life expectancy for women at birth were reported for Rhône-Alpes in France and Provincia Autonoma di Trento in Italy at 86.7 years each, Eurostat said.

When it comes to men, the highest figure for life expectancy at birth for men in 2021, at 82.8 years, was recorded in the autonomous island region of Åland in Finland. 

The next highest levels were reported in two Spanish regions, Comunidad de Madrid and Comunidad Foral de Navarra, and for two Swedish regions, Stockholm and Småland, all hovering around the 82 mark.

In 2021, the overall life expectancy at birth in the EU was 80.1 years. The life expectancy for men was 77.2 years. 👴

Highest for men in:
🇫🇮 Åland (82.8 years)
🇪🇸 Comunidad de Madrid (82.2 years)

Read the news article 👉 https://t.co/VvTdWxGOWM#EurostatRYB pic.twitter.com/49FmYdykNl

— EU_Eurostat (@EU_Eurostat) November 6, 2023

The gap between men and women is at its starkest in Latvia, where life expectancy at birth for women was 9.8 years higher.

The covid-19 pandemic put a stop to steady life expectancy increases in Europe over the past decade, the data show.

"During the last decade, life expectancy in the EU rose at a relatively consistent pace until 2019, when life expectancy at birth was 81.3 years. Since then, 2020 and 2021 have recorded declines in life expectancy," Eurostat said.

According to the agency, the indicator of life expectancy at birth provides information on the number of years a newborn baby can expect to live. It takes into account the mortality conditions today.

It is estimated that the population aged 65 or over in the Republic is projected to double to almost 1.6 million by 2051, figures from the Institute of Public Health show.