An elderly man and woman.

According to preliminary 2024 data, life expectancy at birth in the EU was 81.7 years, up 0.3 years compared with 2023. 

This information comes from the provisional data on life expectancy published by Eurostat today. 

In 15 countries, life expectancy exceeded the EU average, with the highest life expectancy recorded in Italy and Sweden (both 84.1 years) and Spain (84.0 years). 

By contrast, the lowest life expectancy was recorded in Bulgaria (75.9 years), Romania (76.6 years) and Latvia (76.7 years).

Source dataset: demo_mlexpec

When compared with the pre-pandemic level in 2019, out of the 26 EU countries for which preliminary data are available, 24 countries experienced an increase in life expectancy in 2024. The largest increases have been observed in Lithuania (+1.1 year), Czechia, Latvia and Romania (+1.0 years each). 

The Netherlands was the only country that recorded a decline (-0.2 years), life expectancy remained stable in Spain, while France had a slight increase of 0.1 years. 

Change in life expectancy at birth, 2024 compared with 2019. Bar chart - Click below to see full dataset.

Source dataset: demo_mlexpec

For more information

Methodological notes

  • Life expectancy at birth is the average number of years that a newborn child would live if subjected to current mortality conditions (the death rates observed for the current period) throughout the rest of their life.
  • It should be kept in mind that life expectancy is a period indicator of mortality, indicating the average life span in a population subject to the mortality rates of the selected period of time. This means that the life span estimated above would apply if the mortality conditions observed in 2024 will last for all the following years until the extinction of the cohort born in 2024. 
  • For more methodological information on the provisional estimates of life expectancy from weekly deaths data see Eurostat’s Statistical Working Paper.
  • The 2024 provisional estimates are based on weekly deaths data extracted on 5 September 2025. For specific information on the 2024 provisional estimates see the annexes in the Eurostat metadata on mortality.

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