According to a study, the life expectancy of Corsicans is the longest in Europe. We give you the ranking of the other regions where longevity is the greatest on the Old Continent.
- According to INSEE, life expectancy at birth corresponds to the average lifespan of a generation, taking into account the conditions of mortality by age in the year studied.
- In 2019, France was at the top of European populations, with Spain, for life expectancy at 65 years.
Corsica is known for its beaches, its landscapes, its culture… and it will also be known from now on for its longevity. According to a study byEurostat, the inhabitants of the island of beauty hold the 2020 European record in terms of life expectancy: 84 years. In the European Union, the average is 80.4 years.
Life expectancy: Mediterranean populations in the lead
For Corsican women, life expectancy at birth is even 87 years old. BFM TV interviewed islanders to try to unlock the secret of this record longevity. For Pierre, a retiree, it could be linked to the sun and food. Mattea relies more on the low level of stress of the Corsicans. Finally, Chantal believes that the sea and the mountains make it possible to be sporty, and to reduce “pains”.
Characteristics shared by the two other regions present on the European podium of longevity: the Spanish Balearic Islands and the region of Epirus, located in Greece. The regions around the Mediterranean generally have higher levels of life expectancy than the others.
What is the impact of gender on life expectancy?
Generally, women live longer than men, and these recent data confirm this. For the year 2020, women had an average life expectancy at birth of 83.2 years, which is 5.7 years longer than men. If Corsican women hold the record, they are followed by those of the Balearic Islands, whose average life expectancy at birth is 86.7 years. Levels are similar in the Åland Islands in Finland, the Loire and Midi-Pyrenees regions in France, and the Epirus region in Greece. The latter is also characterized by the best life expectancy at birth for men, followed by the region of Umbria in Italy and the Balearic Islands.
European Union: which countries have a lower life expectancy?
Conversely, the countries of Eastern Europe are at lower levels. The lowest life expectancy concerns three regions of Bulgaria, the North-West, the Centre-North and the South-East. In general, life expectancy at birth has decreased in Europe, compared to 2019 data: by one year on average for men, and by 0.8 years for women. “This reduction in life expectancy at birth is linked to the sudden increase in mortality in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.note the authors of the study.
France: how does life expectancy evolve according to age? ?
According to a study of the Department of Research, Studies, Evaluation and Statistics (Dress), published in October 2021, disability-free life expectancy in France has been increasing since 2008. This data corresponds to “athe number of years a person can expect to live without being limited in their daily activities”.
Dress researchers are particularly interested in the level of this data after 65 years. In 2020, healthy life expectancy at age 65 was 12.1 years for women and 10.6 years for men. As for life expectancy without severe disability, it was 18.1 years for women and 15.7 years for men.
