Mortality and life expectancy statistics

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Data from October 2011, most recent data: Further Eurostat information, Main tables and Database.

This article provides information relating to mortality in the European Union (EU). Life expectancy at birth rose rapidly during the last century due to a number of factors, including reductions in infant mortality, rising living standards, improved lifestyles and better education, as well as advances in healthcare and medicine.

Contents

Main statistical findings

Figure 1: Number of deaths, EU-27, 1961-2010 (1)
(million) - Source: Eurostat (demo_gind)
Figure 2: Life expectancy at birth, EU-27, 2002-2008
(years) - Source: Eurostat (demo_mlexpec)
Table 1: Life expectancy at birth, 1994 and 2009
(years) - Source: Eurostat (demo_mlexpec)
Figure 3: Life expectancy at birth, gender gap, 2009
(years, female life expectancy - male life expectancy) - Source: Eurostat (demo_mlexpec)
Table 2: Life expectancy at age 65, 1994 and 2009
(years) - Source: Eurostat (demo_mlexpec)
Figure 4: Life expectancy at age 65, 2009
(years) - Source: Eurostat (demo_mlexpec)
Figure 5: Infant mortality, 1994 and 2009
(deaths per 1 000 live births) - Source: Eurostat (demo_minfind)

Some 4.85 million persons died in the EU-27 in 2010 – this was broadly in line with the number of deaths recorded over the previous 40 years.

Life expectancy is increasing

The most commonly used indicator for analysing mortality is that of life expectancy at birth. Improvements in living standards and the establishment and improvement in health systems across Europe have led to a continuous increase in life expectancy at birth. Indeed, life expectancy at birth in the EU-27 increased over the last 50 years by about ten years. Even in the last six years for which data at an aggregated EU-27 level are available (2002 to 2008) there was an increase in life expectancy of 1.5 years for women and 1.9 years for men (see Figure 2).

Life expectancy in the EU-27 is generally higher than in most other regions of the world. Based on EU-27 observations for 2008, a new born male is expected to live, on average, to 76.4 years old, while a new born female is expected to live to 82.4 years old (see Table 1).

Significant differences in life expectancy at birth are nevertheless observed between the EU Member States. Looking at the extremes of the ranges (2009 data for the majority of countries), a woman born in 2009 is expected to live between 77.4 years (Bulgaria) and 85.0 years (France), a range of 7.6 years. A man born in 2009 can be expected to live between 67.5 years (Lithuania) and 79.4 years (Sweden), a range of 11.9 years.

The gender gap is shrinking

With a gender gap of six years of life in 2008, women generally outlive men in the EU-27. However, the gap between male and female life expectancies at birth varied substantially between Member States. In 2009, the largest difference between the genders was found in Lithuania (11.2 years) and the smallest in Sweden (4.1 years) – see Figure 3.

Infant mortality

Improvements in life expectancy at birth are achieved through reductions in the probability of dying. One of the most significant changes in recent decades has been a reduction in infant mortality rates. During the 15 years from 1994 to 2009 the infant mortality rate in the EU-27 was almost halved. The biggest reductions in infant mortality were generally recorded within those Member States which tended to record higher than average levels of infant mortality in 1994. The lowest infant mortality rate within the EU-27 in 2009 occurred in Slovenia (2.4 deaths per 1 000 live births), Luxembourg, Sweden (both 2.5 ‰) and Finland (2.6 ‰). In contrast, infant mortality rates were approximately four times higher in Romania (10.1 ‰) and Bulgaria (9.0 ‰).

Data sources and availability

Eurostat provides information on a wide range of demographic data, including statistics on the number of deaths by age, deaths by year of birth, deaths according to gender, and deaths according to educational attainment, while statistics are also collected for infant mortality and late foetal deaths. A series of mortality indicators are produced, which may be used to derive a range of information on subjects such as crude death rates or life expectancy measures by age, gender or educational attainment.

Context

The gradual increase in life expectancy is one of the contributing factors to the ageing of the EU-27’s population – alongside relatively low levels of fertility that have persisted for decades (see the articles on population structure and ageing and fertility statistics).

Further Eurostat information

Publications

Main tables

Demography (t_pop)
Mortality (t_demo_mor)
Life expectancy at birth, by gender (tps00025)
Life expectancy at 60 (tps00026)
Life expectancy at age 65, by gender (tsdde210)
Healthy life years and life expectancy at age 65, by gender (tsdph220)
Infant mortality (tps00027)

Database

Demography (pop)
Demography - National data (demo)
Total population and demographic events - Annual balance (demo_gen)
Fertility (demo_fer_
Mortality (demo_mor)
Deaths by age at last birthday and sex (demo_magec)
Deaths by age reached during the year and sex (demo_mager)
Deaths by age at last birthday, sex and educational attainment (ISCED 1997) (demo_maeduc)
Deaths by month (demo_mmonth)
Life expectancy by age and sex (demo_mlexpec)
Life expectancy by age, sex and educational attainment (ISCED 1997) (demo_mlexpecedu)
Life table (demo_mlifetable)
Infant mortality (demo_minf)
Infant mortality rates (demo_minfind)
Late foetal deaths by mother's age (demo_mfoet)
Marriage and divorce (demo_nup)
Demography - Regional data (demoreg)

Dedicated section

Methodology / Metadata

  • Mortality (ESMS metadata file - demo_mor_esms)

Source data for tables and figures (MS Excel)

See also

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