The EU country in which people live the least has been identified

According to the latest data from Eurostat, life expectancy in the European Union in 2024 increased to 81.7 years. An increase of 0.3 years compared to 2023 confirms the long-term upward trend in the block, which informs Profit.Ro .

Despite the overall improvement, the data show marked differences between Member States. In 15 countries EU life expectancy is above average. Italy and Sweden lead the ranking with an indicator of 84.1 years, followed by Spain with 84 years.

At the bottom of the spectrum are Bulgaria, Romania and Latvia, where life expectancy is the lowest in the EU. According to Eurostat, the lowest rate was recorded in Bulgaria — 75.9 years, followed by Romania — 76.6 years and Latvia — 76.7 years.

The analysis also considers these changes in a post-pandemic context. In most EU countries, life expectancy has increased compared to 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the 26 Member States for which data are available, 24 recorded an increase. Lithuania saw the sharpest increase — 1.1 years, while the Czech Republic, Latvia and Romania recorded an improvement of one year.

There are few exceptions. For example, in the Netherlands a decrease of 0.2 years was recorded, in Spain the figures remained unchanged, and in France only a slight increase of 0.1 years was recorded.