Life Expectancy in Europe (2026)
Life Expectancy in Europe ranks European countries and territories by average expected lifespan. The data shows a clear divide between Europe’s longest-living microstates and Western European countries, and lower-ranked parts of Eastern Europe. Explore the latest Europe life expectancy rankings, map, and country-by-country data.
See Also:
Life Expectancy in Europe Rankings
| # | Country | Life Expectancy (Both Sexes) | Global Rank | Continent |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇲🇨Monaco |
86.73 | 1 | Europe |
| 2 | 🇸🇲San Marino |
86.03 | 2 | Europe |
| 3 | 🇦🇩Andorra |
84.46 | 7 | Europe |
| 4 | 🇨🇭Switzerland |
84.37 | 9 | Europe |
| 5 | 🇮🇹Italy |
84.18 | 11 | Europe |
| 6 | 🇪🇸Spain |
84.08 | 13 | Europe |
| 7 | 🇱🇮Liechtenstein |
84.06 | 14 | Europe |
| 8 | 🇬🇮Gibraltar |
83.9 | 16 | Europe |
| 9 | 🇲🇹Malta |
83.78 | 17 | Europe |
| 10 | 🇳🇴Norway |
83.76 | 18 | Europe |
| 11 | 🇸🇪Sweden |
83.73 | 19 | Europe |
| 12 | 🇫🇷France |
83.7 | 20 | Europe |
| 13 | 🇻🇦Vatican City |
83.41 | 22 | Europe |
| 14 | 🇮🇸Iceland |
83.3 | 24 | Europe |
| 15 | 🇮🇪Ireland |
82.92 | 27 | Europe |
| 16 | 🇵🇹Portugal |
82.89 | 29 | Europe |
| 17 | 🇱🇺Luxembourg |
82.64 | 32 | Europe |
| 18 | 🇳🇱Netherlands |
82.61 | 33 | Europe |
| 19 | 🇧🇪Belgium |
82.59 | 34 | Europe |
| 20 | 🇦🇹Austria |
82.45 | 37 | Europe |
| 21 | 🇫🇮Finland |
82.4 | 38 | Europe |
| 22 | 🇬🇷Greece |
82.39 | 39 | Europe |
| 23 | 🇩🇰Denmark |
82.39 | 40 | Europe |
| 24 | 🇸🇮Slovenia |
82.09 | 43 | Europe |
| 25 | 🇩🇪Germany |
81.86 | 44 | Europe |
| 26 | 🇬🇧United Kingdom |
81.75 | 45 | Europe |
| 27 | 🇮🇲Isle of Man |
81.39 | 49 | Europe |
| 28 | 🇫🇴Faroe Islands |
80.81 | 55 | Europe |
| 29 | 🇨🇿Czech Republic |
80.25 | 57 | Europe |
| 30 | 🇦🇱Albania |
80.13 | 59 | Europe |
| 31 | 🇪🇪Estonia |
79.64 | 63 | Europe |
| 32 | 🇵🇱Poland |
79.15 | 67 | Europe |
| 33 | 🇭🇷Croatia |
79.09 | 68 | Europe |
| 34 | 🇸🇰Slovakia |
78.81 | 71 | Europe |
| 35 | 🇧🇦Bosnia and Herzegovina |
78.42 | 75 | Europe |
| 36 | 🇲🇰North Macedonia |
77.81 | 87 | Europe |
| 37 | 🇲🇪Montenegro |
77.6 | 90 | Europe |
| 38 | 🇭🇺Hungary |
77.5 | 92 | Europe |
| 39 | 🇷🇸Serbia |
77.33 | 96 | Europe |
| 40 | 🇱🇻Latvia |
76.63 | 107 | Europe |
| 41 | 🇱🇹Lithuania |
76.48 | 110 | Europe |
| 42 | 🇷🇴Romania |
76.4 | 111 | Europe |
| 43 | 🇧🇬Bulgaria |
76.13 | 115 | Europe |
| 44 | 🇺🇦Ukraine |
75.02 | 126 | Europe |
| 45 | 🇧🇾Belarus |
74.97 | 129 | Europe |
| 46 | 🇷🇺Russia |
73.7 | 139 | Europe |
| 47 | 🇲🇩Moldova |
71.6 | 163 | Europe |
Key Findings
Countries with Highest Life Expectancy in Europe
- Monaco (86.73) ranks first in Europe and globally, followed by San Marino (86.03), Andorra (84.46), Switzerland (84.37), and Italy (84.18).
- Europe’s top-ranked countries tend to benefit from strong healthcare systems, high living standards, low infant mortality, and healthier aging populations.
Countries with Lowest Life Expectancy in Europe
- The lowest life expectancy levels in Europe are found in Moldova (71.60), Russia (73.70), Belarus (74.97), and Ukraine (75.02).
- Lower rankings are often linked to healthcare access, chronic disease burden, lifestyle risk factors, economic conditions, and regional instability.
Western and Southern Europe Perform Strongly
- Countries such as Switzerland, Italy, Spain, France, Norway, Sweden, Malta, and Portugal appear near the top of the European rankings.
- These countries generally combine advanced medical care, strong public health systems, better living conditions, and longer healthy lifespans.
Europe Has a Wide Regional Gap
- Europe’s life expectancy ranges from 86.73 years in Monaco to 71.60 years in Moldova.
- This gap of more than 15 years highlights major differences in health outcomes, income levels, disease burden, and mortality patterns across the region.
Microstates Rank Near the Top
- Several European microstates and small territories, including Monaco, San Marino, Andorra, Liechtenstein, Gibraltar, Malta, and Vatican City, rank very highly.
- Their strong performance is often associated with high incomes, small populations, high-quality healthcare access, and favorable living conditions.
About Life Expectancy in Europe
Life Expectancy in Europe compares how long people are expected to live across European countries and territories based on current mortality patterns. It reflects the combined impact of healthcare quality, income levels, nutrition, public health systems, social stability, and living conditions.
Europe includes many of the world’s longest-living populations, especially in microstates and Western European countries. However, life expectancy still varies across the region, with noticeable differences between Southern, Western, Northern, and Eastern Europe.
These rankings help readers identify which European countries have the highest and lowest life expectancy and understand how regional health outcomes differ across the continent.
Definitions & Methodology
What is life expectancy in Europe?
Life expectancy in Europe shows the average number of years people are expected to live in European countries and territories based on current mortality patterns.
How are the Europe rankings calculated?
Countries are ranked by Life Expectancy (Both Sexes), which represents the average expected lifespan at birth for the total population.
What does global rank mean?
Global rank shows where each European country or territory stands in the worldwide life expectancy ranking. For example, Monaco ranks first in Europe and first globally in this dataset.
What units are used?
All values are shown in years. A life expectancy value of 84.37 means the average expected lifespan is about 84.37 years.
Life Expectancy in Europe FAQs
Which country has the highest life expectancy in Europe?
Monaco has the highest life expectancy in Europe in 2026 at 86.73 years, followed by San Marino, Andorra, Switzerland, and Italy.
Which country has the lowest life expectancy in Europe?
Moldova has the lowest life expectancy in Europe in this dataset at 71.60 years, followed by Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine.
Why is life expectancy high in many European countries?
Life expectancy is high in many European countries because of strong healthcare systems, better living conditions, lower infant mortality, higher incomes, and broad access to public health services.
Why does life expectancy vary across Europe?
Life expectancy varies across Europe due to differences in healthcare quality, income levels, lifestyle risks, chronic disease rates, public health systems, and regional stability.
How is life expectancy in Europe measured?
Life expectancy in Europe is measured as the average number of years a newborn is expected to live if current age-specific mortality rates remain unchanged.