The expected average life expectancy is steadily increasing is now an established truth. Thanks to improved living conditions and medical progress, the average life expectancy has increased in large parts of the world since 1900.
But now, a slight trend break is emerging. Between 1990 and 2011, the increase was 0.23 years on average in Europe. Thereafter, during the period 2011 and 2019, the increase dropped to 0.15 years, shows a review published in The Lancet Public Health.
The trend is the same in all studied countries in Europe – with one exception: Norway. Of the 20 countries studied, our neighboring country was the only one where the increase continues to rise.
The largest decline in the rate of increase is seen on the British Isles, in England followed by Northern Ireland, Wales, and Scotland.
In many countries, there was also a blow to life expectancy at the beginning of the 2020s as a consequence of the covid pandemic. But in Sweden, along with Ireland, Iceland, Norway, Denmark, and Belgium, no pandemic effect on life expectancy is seen, according to the Lancet article.
According to the researchers, the increased life expectancy between 1990 and 2011 was driven by fewer deaths from heart and vascular diseases and cancer, partly due to better public health policy. The researchers emphasize the need for long-term efforts to improve diet and increase physical activity.
In 2023, the average life expectancy for men in Sweden was 81.6 years and for women 84.9 years, according to Statistics Sweden.
Corrected: In an earlier version of the text, the trend for the change in life expectancy was incorrectly described.
