Shocking: A Hungarian region struggles with the lowest life expectancy at birth in Europe

Eurostat compared the NUTS-2 regions of the European Union, Norway, Serbia and Türkiye and found interesting results concerning life expectancy at birth. The good news is that life expectancy in the EU grew by 0.8 years in 2023 compared to 2022. That is a higher value than in the last pre-COVID year, 2019. However, based on the latest Eurostat data, one Hungarian NUTS-2 region has the lowest life expectancy at birth in the EU, Norway, Serbia and Türkiye.

Life expectancy at birth is increasing

According to Eurostat, “in 2023, life expectancy at birth in the EU was 81.4 years, marking an increase of 0.8 years from 2022. After having declined in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, life expectancy has reached values higher than in 2019. That was also the highest recorded value since 2002, reflecting a total increase of 3.8 years.”

Madrid can be proud of the latest Eurostat results since the European statistics office found a higher life expectancy in the Spanish capital (86.1 years). The runner-ups are Provincia Autonoma di Trento in Italy (85.1 years), Åland in Finland (85.1 years), Comunidad Foral de Navarra in Spain and Provincia Autonoma di Bolzano/Bozen in Italy (both 85.0 years).

Life expectancy at birth in Hungary is the lowest among the countries evaluated

Life expectancy is the highest in Western European countries like France, Ireland, the Netherlands, Belgium, and Southern Germany, the Scandinavian states and Southern European countries like Spain, Italy, and Greece. Central European countries and regions are midfield. Interestingly, an apparent dividing line runs through Hungary concerning life expectancy at birth, separating East from West. All Western Hungarian NUTS-2 regions are above 76.7 years, while Eastern Hungary is below that level, just like most regions of Romania, Serbia and Bulgaria. Life expectancy at birth is the highest in Budapest (78.8 years) and Pest County (77.4 years).

Sadly, the lowest life expectancy in Europe is in the Northern Hungary NUTS-2 region, with only 74.9 years. That is also the figure in Mayotte, one of the overseas departments of France, located in the northern part of the Mozambique Channel, between the island of Madagascar and northeastern Mozambique on the African continent.

The runner-ups are three Bulgarian NUTS-2 regions: Severozapaden (73.9 years), Severen tsentralen (75.2 years), and Yugoiztochen (75.1 years).

Read also:

• Devastating news: life expectancy at birth in Hungary low, Romania may soon precede Hungary – read more HERE
• Shocking truth revealed: Why Hungarians have shorter retirement lives