{"version":1,"asset_type":"statistical_series","data_type":"time_series","slug":"europe-life-expectancy-by-country","url":"https://apiardata.com/statistics/europe-life-expectancy-by-country","html_url":"https://apiardata.com/statistics/europe-life-expectancy-by-country/","title":"Life Expectancy in Europe by Country (2024)","description":"Life expectancy at birth across 36 European countries in 2024. Liechtenstein leads at 84.2 years, Georgia trails at 74.9 — a gap of 9.3 years. Eurostat data.","domain":"health","category":"Health","keywords":["Health","Life Expectancy","Europe","Eurostat","2024"],"publisher":"Eurostat","frequency":"Annual","temporal_coverage":"2005/2024","unit":"years","last_updated":"2026-07-25","last_updated_text":"25 July 2026","data_as_of":"2024","variable_measured":"Life expectancy at birth","license":"https://apiardata.com/data-license","is_accessible_for_free":true,"sources":[{"name":"Eurostat","url":"https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/DEMO_MLEXPEC/default/table"}],"meta":[{"label":"Frequency","value":"Annual"},{"label":"Reference year","value":"2024"},{"label":"Coverage","value":"2005–2024"},{"label":"Countries","value":"36"},{"label":"Last updated","value":"25 July 2026"}],"kpis":[{"label":"Average of the panel (2024)","value":"81.1","unit":"years","trend":{"direction":"up","value":"+0.3 vs 2023"}},{"label":"Highest","value":"84.2","unit":"Liechtenstein"},{"label":"Lowest","value":"74.9","unit":"Georgia"},{"label":"Countries ranked","value":"36","unit":"with a published figure"}],"series":[{"key":"value","label":"Average life expectancy at birth"}],"observation_count":20,"observations":[{"period":"2005","value":77.5},{"period":"2006","value":77.9},{"period":"2007","value":78},{"period":"2008","value":78.4},{"period":"2009","value":78.7},{"period":"2010","value":79},{"period":"2011","value":79.3},{"period":"2012","value":79.4},{"period":"2013","value":79.8},{"period":"2014","value":79.8},{"period":"2015","value":79.8},{"period":"2016","value":80.1},{"period":"2017","value":80.1},{"period":"2018","value":80.3},{"period":"2019","value":80.6},{"period":"2020","value":79.9},{"period":"2021","value":79.4},{"period":"2022","value":80.1},{"period":"2023","value":80.8},{"period":"2024","value":81.1}],"table":{"columns":[{"key":"rank","label":"#"},{"key":"country","label":"Country"},{"key":"value","label":"years"},{"key":"yoyChange","label":"Change vs 2023"}],"rows":[{"rank":"1","country":"Liechtenstein","value":"84.2","yoyChange":"+0.4"},{"rank":"2","country":"Switzerland","value":"84.2","yoyChange":"+0.1"},{"rank":"3","country":"Spain","value":"84.0","yoyChange":"+0.2"},{"rank":"4","country":"Sweden","value":"83.8","yoyChange":"+0.6"},{"rank":"5","country":"Italy","value":"83.7","yoyChange":"+0.4"},{"rank":"6","country":"Cyprus","value":"83.5","yoyChange":"+0.5"},{"rank":"7","country":"Luxembourg","value":"83.2","yoyChange":"+0.1"},{"rank":"8","country":"Norway","value":"83.2","yoyChange":"+0.2"},{"rank":"9","country":"Ireland","value":"83.1","yoyChange":"+0.4"},{"rank":"10","country":"France","value":"83.0","yoyChange":"+0.1"},{"rank":"11","country":"Malta","value":"83.0","yoyChange":"-0.1"},{"rank":"12","country":"Iceland","value":"82.8","yoyChange":"+0.4"},{"rank":"13","country":"Portugal","value":"82.5","yoyChange":"+0.2"},{"rank":"14","country":"Belgium","value":"82.4","yoyChange":"+0.1"},{"rank":"15","country":"Finland","value":"82.2","yoyChange":"+0.6"},{"rank":"16","country":"Austria","value":"82.1","yoyChange":"+0.2"},{"rank":"17","country":"Slovenia","value":"82.1","yoyChange":"+0.3"},{"rank":"18","country":"Denmark","value":"82.0","yoyChange":"+0.3"},{"rank":"19","country":"Greece","value":"81.9","yoyChange":"+0.2"},{"rank":"20","country":"Netherlands","value":"81.9","yoyChange":"+0.1"},{"rank":"21","country":"Germany","value":"81.2","yoyChange":"+0.3"},{"rank":"22","country":"Albania","value":"80.4","yoyChange":"n/a"},{"rank":"23","country":"Czechia","value":"80.1","yoyChange":"+0.3"},{"rank":"24","country":"Estonia","value":"79.4","yoyChange":"+0.5"},{"rank":"25","country":"Turkey","value":"79.0","yoyChange":"+1.7"},{"rank":"26","country":"Croatia","value":"78.9","yoyChange":"+0.4"},{"rank":"27","country":"Poland","value":"78.5","yoyChange":"+0.3"},{"rank":"28","country":"Slovakia","value":"78.4","yoyChange":"+0.3"},{"rank":"29","country":"Montenegro","value":"77.6","yoyChange":"unchanged"},{"rank":"30","country":"Lithuania","value":"77.5","yoyChange":"+0.1"},{"rank":"31","country":"Hungary","value":"76.8","yoyChange":"+0.1"},{"rank":"32","country":"Romania","value":"76.5","yoyChange":"+0.2"},{"rank":"33","country":"Latvia","value":"76.4","yoyChange":"+0.8"},{"rank":"34","country":"Serbia","value":"76.2","yoyChange":"unchanged"},{"rank":"35","country":"Bulgaria","value":"75.8","yoyChange":"+0.1"},{"rank":"36","country":"Georgia","value":"74.9","yoyChange":"+1.2"}]},"qa":[{"question":"Which European country has the highest life expectancy?","answer":"Liechtenstein, at 84.2 years in 2024. Switzerland, Spain, Sweden and Italy follow closely — the top of the table is separated by fractions of a year, so small annual revisions can reorder it. Spain, Italy and Switzerland have held places near the top for two decades."},{"question":"How large is the life expectancy gap within Europe?","answer":"9.3 years separate Liechtenstein from Georgia. That gap is the most durable feature of the table: the ranking's bottom is consistently made up of eastern European and Balkan countries, where cardiovascular mortality among middle-aged men remains far above western European levels. The gap has narrowed since the 1990s but has not closed."},{"question":"Has European life expectancy recovered from COVID-19?","answer":"Yes, for the region as a whole. The panel average reached 81.1 years in 2024, +0.3 years on 2023 and above the pre-pandemic level in most reporting countries. The chart shows the shape clearly: a steady climb through the 2010s, a sharp two-year drop in 2020–2021, then a recovery. Countries that lost the most during the pandemic have generally regained the most since."}]}