Countries in the Mediterranean region, including Albania, are often known for their high life expectancy compared to other parts of the world. However, recent statistics reveal that Albanian women lived shorter lives on average than their European counterparts in 2022.
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| Screenshot of life expectancy of women in Europe, EUROSTAT |
According to Eurostat, life expectancy at birth for women in the EU was 83.3 years in 2022, 5.4 years longer than for men (77.9 years). This gender gap favoring women persisted across all EU regions. In Albania, however, women’s life expectancy was 80.9 years, falling short by 2.4 years compared to the EU average, as reported by Albania’s Institute of Statistics (INSTAT).
Life expectancy for women in the EU showed a slight increase of 0.4 years from 2021, while in Albania, it rose significantly by 2.2 years between 2021 and 2022, partly due to a decrease in mortality rates following the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2022, the gender gap in life expectancy in Albania was 3.6 years, compared to 5.4 years in the EU. This suggests a narrower difference between men’s and women’s longevity in Albania than in other parts of Europe.
In the EU, the highest life expectancy for women was recorded in Madrid, Spain, at 87.7 years. Other Spanish regions, including Comunidad Foral de Navarra (86.9 years) and Castilla y León (86.7 years), also ranked highly. Conversely, the lowest life expectancy for women was recorded in France's distant region of Mayotte at 74.4 years, followed by three regions in Bulgaria with similarly low rates.
For men, the gap between Albania and the EU was minor, at just 0.6 years. Albanian men had a life expectancy of 77.3 years in 2022, compared to 77.9 years in the EU. The highest life expectancy for men, as with women, was in Madrid (82.4 years), with northern Italy’s Provincia Autonoma di Trento and Stockholm in Sweden following closely at 82.3 years.
Gender-based longevity gaps also vary widely across Europe. Latvia had the largest disparity, with women outliving men by 10 years, while in other EU countries like Denmark, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Sweden, the gender gap in life expectancy was notably smaller. The smallest gap was found in Mayotte, France, where women’s life expectancy was only 0.4 years longer than that of men.
These statistics highlight the regional differences in life expectancy within Europe and the impact of socioeconomic and healthcare factors on longevity. As Albania works to improve public health and longevity, these disparities offer valuable insight into areas for potential improvement.