Press Release 19/08/2014
The life expectancy of Basque women, 85.4 years, is among the highest in the EU-28
However, the birth rate in the Basque Country is far lower than the average of the countries in this area
One of the most relevant demographic indicators is that which refers to the life expectancy of the population. There has been a significant positive trend in this indicator in the Basque Country in recent years, according to the latest data available from Eustat and Eurostat, given that the life expectancy of the Basque population in 2001 stood at 76.4 years for men and 83.7 years for women, and in 2011 it stood at 78.9 and 85.4 years, respectively. This figure for women is higher than the average for the EU-28 countries, which was 83.1 years in 2011.
Life expectancy at birth in the EU-28 (years)
Source: Eurostat and Eustat.
In Spain, the figures were 79.5 for men and 85.6 for women in 2011.
In the rest of the EU-28, France, with 85.7 years, and Spain, with 85.6 years, were the only countries that had higher life expectancies for women than the Basque Country. Just behind them at the top of the list were Italy (84.4); Austria, Finland, Portugal and Sweden (each with 83.8), and Greece and Luxembourg (each with 83.6).
By contrast, the lowest life expectancies for women in the EU-28 were recorded in Bulgaria (77.8), Romania (78.2), Hungary (78.7) and Latvia (78.8).
For EU-28 men, Swedes, with 79.9 years, had the longest life expectancy, followed by Italians (79.7) and Spaniards (79.5). Males in Lithuania occupied the bottom of the list due to having the lowest life expectancy (with 68.1 years), below Latvia (68.6), Bulgaria (70.7) and Romania (71.1).
9.3 births per 1,000 inhabitants were recorded, compared to the 10.4 births in the EU-28
By contrast, the birth rate in the Basque Country in 2012 was among the lowest of the EU-28 countries, according to Eustat and Eurostat data. With 9.3 births per 1,000 inhabitants, it was far below the EU-28 average for that year, which was 10.4.
It was noteworthy that the rate in the Basque Country was 9.9 in 2008 and 9.2 in 2003, meaning that its rate in 2012 had fallen almost back down to the rate from ten years before.
The birth rate in the Basque Country in 2012 was only higher than the rates in Germany (8.4 births per 1,000 inhabitants), Portugal (8.5), Greece and Italy (9.0 each) and Hungary (9.1). By contrast, the highest levels in the EU-28 countries were in Ireland (15.7), the United Kingdom (12.8) and France (12.6). The Spanish birth rate was also low, with 9.7 births per 1,000 inhabitants.
For further information:
Eustat - Euskal Estatistika Erakundea / Basque Statistics Institute
C/ Donostia-San Sebastián, 1 01010 Vitoria-Gasteiz
Press Service: servicioprensa@eustat.eus Tel: 945 017 562
Further press releases on the Basque Country in the EU-28