Cyprus Mail 20 May 2024 - by Jonathan Shkurko
Life expectancy in Cyprus is marginally above the EU average, with women living four years longer than men, according to a report released by Eurostat on Monday.
According to the report, during the Covid-19 pandemic, life expectancy decreased across EU countries, including Cyprus. However, preliminary data indicates that life expectancy increased again in 2023.
Life expectancy in Cyprus is 82.5 years, compared to the EU average of 81.5 years. Specifically, women in Cyprus have a life expectancy of 84.7 years, while for men it is 80.4 years.
Pre-pandemic data shows that life expectancy in Cyprus was 82.3 years in 2019. It increased to 82.4 years in 2020 but dropped to 81.3 years in 2021 due to numerous deaths among the elderly population. It rose to 81.6 years in 2022 and surpassed pre-pandemic levels in 2023, reaching 82.5 years.
The trend is consistent with most EU countries. In Greece, life expectancy was 81.7 years in 2019, fell to 80.2 years in 2021, and rose to 81.6 years in 2023.
Overall, life expectancy in the EU was 81.3 years in 2019, dropped to 80.1 years in 2021, and climbed back to 81.5 years in 2023.
Alongside Cyprus, 14 other countries have life expectancies above the EU average, The top three include Spain (84 years), Italy (83.8 years), and Malta (83.6 years). The lowest life expectancy rates across the bloc were found in Bulgaria (75.8 years), Latvia (75.9 years), and Romania (76.6 years).
The report also noted that Covid-19 was the leading cause of death in 2021, accounting for 8.4 per cent of all deaths, followed by ischaemic heart disease (7.8 per cent) and diabetes (6.8 per cent). In 2020, the first year of the pandemic, only 2 per cent of deaths were due to Covid-19.
