Life expectancy in Spain falls by 1.6 years as country suffers biggest drop in Europe

LIFE expectancy in Spain fell by a year and a half in the last 12 months, according to new data. 

EU statistical agency Eurostat found that life expectancy across Europe has plummeted since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

And Spain has seen the biggest drop in life expectancy in Europe, with a loss of 1.6 years compared with 2019.  

Bulgaria was next with a loss of 1.5 years, followed by Lithuania, Poland and Romania, which all saw a drop of 1.4 years.

In England, life expectancy dipped by 1.1 years compared to 2019. While the Netherlands, France, and Austria all saw a loss of 0.7 years. 

Denmark and Finland were the only nations to see a rise in life expectancy, increasing by 0.1 years.

According to Eurostat, life expectancy has been steadily increasing in the EU until the past few years.

Official data reveals “that life expectancy has risen, on average, by more than two years per decade since the 1960s”, the agency said.

“However, the latest available data suggest that life expectancy stagnated or even declined in recent years in several EU member states.”

Life expectancy is a statistical measure of the average time a baby born today is expected to live.

The data is calculated based on the number of deaths at a specific age and therefore at what age the person is most likely to die. 

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