Bulgaria remains the EU country with the lowest life expectancy life expectancy in the EU and in 2023 - 75.8 years compared to the average European indicator of 81.5 years, reports the European statistical service Eurostat on its website, quoted by BTA.
However, we are still among the countries where the indicator has grown the most compared to the pre-pandemic year of 2019.
According to preliminary data for 2023, life expectancy at birth in the EU is 81.5 years, which is 0.9 years higher than in 2022 and 0.2 years higher than the level reported previously the 2019 COVID-19 pandemic.
In 15 countries, life expectancy exceeds the EU average, with the highest life expectancy recorded in Spain (84.0 years), Italy (83.8 years) and Malta (83.6 years).< br /> The lowest life expectancy was recorded in Bulgaria (75.8 years), Latvia (75.9 years) and Romania (76.6 years).
Compared to the pre-pandemic level in 2019, 18 EU countries saw an increase in life expectancy in 2023, two countries saw it remain stable and six saw a decrease. The largest increase was in Romania (+1.0 years), followed by Lithuania (+0.8 years), Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Luxembourg and Malta (all with an increase of +0.7 years).
The largest decreases are in Austria and Finland (-0.4 years each), followed by Estonia and the Netherlands (-0.2 years each).