In 2016, the life expectancy of a new born child in the European Union (EU) was 81.0 years. This represents the average number of years that a new born child could expect to live in the EU if subjected throughout his/her life to current mortality conditions. It is possible to look at how life expectancy at birth varies between the different NUTS 2 regions within the EU, and the figures show that there is a difference of 11.9 years between the regions with the highest and lowest life expectancy.
The regions with the highest levels of life expectancy were mainly located in Spain and Italy, whereas the majority of the regions with relatively low levels of life expectancy were mostly located in the easternmost regions of the EU.
The data source is: demo_r_mlifexp.
The highest level of life expectancy in the EU was recorded in the Spanish capital city region of Comunidad de Madrid (85.2 years), followed by two other Spanish regions La Rioja and Castilla y León (both 84.3 years). Also in joint second place was the Italian region of Provincia Autonoma di Trento, and in fifth place was the French capital city region of Île de France (84.2 years).
At the other end of the range, the lowest figures for life expectancy at birth in 2016 were recorded in the Bulgarian regions of Severozapaden (73.3 years), Yugoiztochen (74.4 years) and Severen tsentralen (74.4 years); the Romanian regions of Sud-Est (74.4 years) and Nord-Est (74.6 years); and the Hungarian region of Észak-Magyarország (74.6 years).
For further analysis of life expectancy at birth by NUTS 2 regions, please refer to the online article in the Eurostat Regional Yearbook. The figures by region can be viewed through Statistical Atlas and more general information on mortality and life expectancy statistics is available here.
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