Key Takeaways
- Malta leads the EU with 70.2 healthy life years. Denmark ranks last among high-life-expectancy countries at 55.9. Latvia ranks last overall at 54.2.
- Healthy life years measure years lived free from activity limitations due to health problems. Life expectancy counts every year of life, regardless of health status.
- Eight of the top ten countries are Mediterranean, Southern, or Eastern EU. Research links the Mediterranean diet to lower rates of cardiovascular disease, metabolic disease, and cancer.
- Spain has the highest life expectancy in the EU at 83.2 years. It ranks 15th for healthy life years at 61.2. Bulgaria ranks 4th at 66.7 despite a life expectancy of only 74.2 years.
- Finland (57.9) and Denmark (55.9) rank near the bottom despite life expectancies above 81 years. Finland’s main burdens are circulatory disease, musculoskeletal disease, and rising obesity. In 2019, Denmark recorded the highest rate of heavy episodic drinking in the EU at 37.8% of alcohol drinkers.
- Healthy life years come from self-reported data. Countries with stronger disability support systems tend to report more limitations. The numbers are not a direct comparison of lived health across countries.
Healthy Life Years and Life Expectancy Across EU Countries
| Country | Healthy Life Years at Birth | Life Expectancy at Birth |
|---|---|---|
| Malta | 70.2 (p) | 82.4 |
| Italy | 67.4 | 82.8 |
| Greece | 67.0 | 80.8 |
| Bulgaria | 66.7 (b) | 74.2 |
| Slovenia | 66.7 | 81.3 |
| Sweden | 66.5 | 83.1 |
| Ireland | 66.0 | 82.6 |
| Cyprus | 66.0 | 81.6 |
| France | 64.4 (bp) | 82.3 |
| Belgium | 63.7 | 81.8 |
| Hungary | 62.6 (b) | 76.0 |
| Poland | 62.4 (b) | 77.2 |
| Czechia | 61.8 | 79.0 |
| Spain | 61.2 | 83.2 |
| Germany | 61.1 (bu) | 80.7 |
| Austria | 60.9 | 81.4 |
| Croatia | 60.3 (b) | 77.7 |
| Lithuania | 60.3 | 75.8 |
| Luxembourg | 60.2 (b) | 83.0 |
| Estonia | 59.3 | 78.1 |
| Portugal | 59.1 (bp) | 81.8 |
| Romania | 59.0 (e) | 75.1 |
| Netherlands | 58.5 | 81.7 |
| Finland | 57.9 | 81.2 |
| Slovakia | 57.3 | 77.0 |
| Denmark | 55.9 | 81.3 |
| Latvia | 54.2 | 74.5 |
| EU-27 average | 62.6 (b) | 80.6 |
Source: Eurostat (2022)
Healthy life years measure the number of years a person is expected to live free from activity limitations due to health problems. Life expectancy measures total expected years of life from birth, regardless of health status.
(p) provisional and subject to revision
(b) break in time series
(bp) both provisional and contain a break in the time series
(bu) break in the time series and carry low reliability
(e) estimated
Denmark has a life expectancy of 81.3 years. Its citizens can expect 55.9 of those years free from significant health limitations. Malta, by contrast, expects 70.2 healthy years out of a total life expectancy of 82.4. The gap between the two countries is 14 years.
Healthy life years measure how long a person can expect to live without activity limitations due to health problems. Life expectancy counts every year of life, regardless of health status.
Eight of the top ten countries for healthy life years are Mediterranean, Southern, or Eastern EU.
- Malta: 70.2
- Italy: 67.4
- Greece: 67.0
- Bulgaria: 66.7
- Slovenia: 66.7
The Mediterranean diet lowers rates of cardiovascular disease, metabolic disease, and cancer. Malta also has high healthcare coverage rates and lower chronic disease prevalence among older adults than the EU average. These countries are not just living long. They are aging with fewer conditions that restrict daily activity.
Mediterranean diet leads to lower obesity rates ->
The pattern does not hold for every Mediterranean country.
- Spain ranks 15th at 61.2, despite having the highest life expectancy in the EU at 83.2 years.
- Luxembourg sits at 60.2 healthy years against a life expectancy of 83.0.
The contrast is sharpest between Spain and Bulgaria. Spain lives the longest of any EU country. Bulgaria has one of the shortest life expectancies in the EU, at 74.2 years. Yet Bulgaria produces 5.5 more healthy years than Spain.
Part of this reflects who survives to old age. Bulgaria has the highest cardiovascular disease death rate in the EU. People with serious chronic conditions die earlier. The population that reaches older age tends to report fewer health limitations as a result.
Finland (57.9) and Denmark (55.9) rank near the bottom despite life expectancies above 81 years. The two countries face a different set of problems from the Mediterranean top-ranked countries.
- Finland’s main public health burdens are circulatory disease, musculoskeletal disease, and rising obesity rates.
- Denmark has one of the highest rates of heavy alcohol consumption in the EU. In 2019, 37.8% of those who drink alcohol in Denmark reported heavy episodic drinking at least once a month.
Healthy life years come from self-reported data. Countries with stronger disability support systems and higher health awareness tend to produce higher rates of reported health limitations. This does not account for the full gap between countries. However, it means the numbers are not a clean comparison of lived health.
What the table consistently shows is that a long life and a healthy one are not the same outcome. Where a person lives in the EU determines not just how many years they get, but what condition they spend them in.
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