EU countries by healthy life years at birth

Malta had the highest healthy life years at birth of 27 EU countries in 2015, at 73.6 years. Latvia had the lowest, at 53 years. The median was 61.6 years and the figure for the European Union (27) was 62.8 years. Source: Eurostat, European Commission.

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Highest73.6Malta
Lowest53Latvia
Median61.627 EU countries
European Union (27)62.8History

Map of EU countries, 2015

Austria: 58 yearsBelgium: 64.2 yearsBulgaria: 63.2 yearsCyprus: 63.3 yearsCzechia: 63 yearsGermany: 66.4 yearsDenmark: 59.1 yearsEstonia: 55 yearsSpain: 64 yearsFinland: 57.8 yearsFrance: 63.6 yearsGreece: 64 yearsCroatia: 56.1 yearsHungary: 59.1 yearsIreland: 67.2 yearsItaly: 62.6 yearsLithuania: 56.5 yearsLuxembourg: 62.2 yearsLatvia: 53 yearsMalta: 73.6 yearsNetherlands: 59.1 yearsPoland: 61.6 yearsPortugal: 56.5 yearsRomania: 59.2 yearsSweden: 72.7 yearsSlovenia: 58.1 yearsSlovakia: 54.9 years
  • Under 57
  • 57 to 59
  • 59 to 63
  • 63 to 64
  • 64 and over
years, 2015. Source: Eurostat, Healthy life years in absolute value at birth, total (hlth_hlye). Boundaries: Natural Earth (public domain).

All EU countries, 2015

Malta: 73.6 yearsMalta73.6Sweden: 72.7 yearsSweden72.7Ireland: 67.2 yearsIreland67.2Germany: 66.4 yearsGermany66.4Belgium: 64.2 yearsBelgium64.2Greece: 64 yearsGreece64Spain: 64 yearsSpain64France: 63.6 yearsFrance63.6Cyprus: 63.3 yearsCyprus63.3Bulgaria: 63.2 yearsBulgaria63.2Czechia: 63 yearsCzechia63Italy: 62.6 yearsItaly62.6Luxembourg: 62.2 yearsLuxembourg62.2Poland: 61.6 yearsPoland61.6Romania: 59.2 yearsRomania59.2Denmark: 59.1 yearsDenmark59.1Hungary: 59.1 yearsHungary59.1Netherlands: 59.1 yearsNetherlands59.1Slovenia: 58.1 yearsSlovenia58.1Austria: 58 yearsAustria58Finland: 57.8 yearsFinland57.8Lithuania: 56.5 yearsLithuania56.5Portugal: 56.5 yearsPortugal56.5Croatia: 56.1 yearsCroatia56.1Estonia: 55 yearsEstonia55Slovakia: 54.9 yearsSlovakia54.9Latvia: 53 yearsLatvia53Malta: 73.6 yearsMalta73.6Sweden: 72.7 yearsSweden72.7Ireland: 67.2 yearsIreland67.2Germany: 66.4 yearsGermany66.4Belgium: 64.2 yearsBelgium64.2Greece: 64 yearsGreece64Spain: 64 yearsSpain64France: 63.6 yearsFrance63.6Cyprus: 63.3 yearsCyprus63.3Bulgaria: 63.2 yearsBulgaria63.2Czechia: 63 yearsCzechia63Italy: 62.6 yearsItaly62.6Luxembourg: 62.2 yearsLuxembourg62.2Poland: 61.6 yearsPoland61.6Romania: 59.2 yearsRomania59.2Denmark: 59.1 yearsDenmark59.1Hungary: 59.1 yearsHungary59.1Netherlands: 59.1 yearsNetherlands59.1Slovenia: 58.1 yearsSlovenia58.1Austria: 58 yearsAustria58Finland: 57.8 yearsFinland57.8Lithuania: 56.5 yearsLithuania56.5Portugal: 56.5 yearsPortugal56.5Croatia: 56.1 yearsCroatia56.1Estonia: 55 yearsEstonia55Slovakia: 54.9 yearsSlovakia54.9Latvia: 53 yearsLatvia53
years. Source: Eurostat, Healthy life years in absolute value at birth, total (hlth_hlye). Retrieved 2026-10-18.

Full ranking

RankEU countries2015
years
Change on 2014
1Malta73.6+0.2
2Sweden72.7-0.2
3Ireland67.2+0.3
4Germany Series break66.4+9.9
5Belgium64.2+0.1
6Greece64-0.5
6Spain64-1
8France63.6-0.2
9Cyprus63.3-2.7
10Bulgaria63.2-0.8
11Czechia63-1.1
12Italy62.6+0.2
13Luxembourg62.2-1.6
14Poland61.6+0.3
15Romania59.2+0.2
16Denmark59.1-1.8
16Hungary59.1-0.8
16Netherlands59.1-2.1
19Slovenia58.1-0.6
20Austria58+0.3
21Finland57.8-0.4
22Lithuania56.5-3.2
22Portugal56.5-0.4
24Croatia56.1-3.2
25Estonia55-0.2
26Slovakia54.9-0.2
27Latvia53-0.4

Other periods

About this ranking

Number of years a newborn can expect to live without an activity limitation due to health problems, if current mortality and current rates of reported limitation persist. Both sexes.

Combines mortality with the share of people who report being limited for at least six months in activities people usually do because of a health problem (the EU-SILC global activity limitation question). Not the same as the WHO healthy life expectancy (healthy_life_expectancy), which uses a different method. Values depend on how people answer the survey question in each country, so differences between countries partly reflect culture and wording.

Every value in the ranking comes from the same publisher and the same period, so the EU countries are compared on one definition. Equal values share a rank.

How to cite

Eurostat. Healthy life years in absolute value at birth, total (hlth_hlye). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/hlth_hlye/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-18.

Citation styles

The publisher is the author. Invokely is named only as the place the figures were read, where a style asks for it.

APA 7

Eurostat, European Commission. (2026). Healthy life years in absolute value at birth, total (hlth_hlye) (EU countries by healthy life years at birth, 2015) [Data set]. Retrieved October 18, 2026, from https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/hlth_hlye/default/table

MLA 9

Healthy life years in absolute value at birth, total (hlth_hlye), EU countries by healthy life years at birth, 2015. Eurostat, European Commission, 17 July 2026, https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/hlth_hlye/default/table. Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/healthy-life-years-at-birth/eu-countries?period=2015. Accessed 18 Oct. 2026.

Chicago (author-date)

Eurostat, European Commission. 2026. Healthy life years in absolute value at birth, total (hlth_hlye). EU countries by healthy life years at birth, 2015. Dataset. Accessed October 18, 2026. https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/hlth_hlye/default/table. Also distributed by Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/healthy-life-years-at-birth/eu-countries?period=2015.

Harvard

Eurostat, European Commission (2026) Healthy life years in absolute value at birth, total (hlth_hlye), EU countries by healthy life years at birth, 2015 [Dataset]. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/hlth_hlye/default/table, via Invokely: https://invokely.ai/rankings/healthy-life-years-at-birth/eu-countries?period=2015 (Accessed: 18 October 2026).

BibTeX
@misc{eurostat_eu_countries_by_healthy_2015,
  author = {{Eurostat, European Commission}},
  title = {{Healthy life years in absolute value at birth, total (hlth\_hlye): EU countries by healthy life years at birth, 2015}},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {Data set},
  url = {https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/hlth_hlye/default/table},
  urldate = {2026-10-18},
  note = {Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/healthy-life-years-at-birth/eu-countries?period=2015. Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Healthy life years in absolute value at birth, total (hlth\_hlye). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/hlth\_hlye/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-18.},
}
RIS
TY  - DATA
AU  - Eurostat, European Commission
TI  - Healthy life years in absolute value at birth, total (hlth_hlye): EU countries by healthy life years at birth, 2015
PY  - 2026
DA  - 2026/07/17
PB  - Eurostat, European Commission
DB  - Invokely
UR  - https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/hlth_hlye/default/table
L2  - https://invokely.ai/rankings/healthy-life-years-at-birth/eu-countries?period=2015
Y2  - 2026/10/18
N1  - Accessed via Invokely, https://invokely.ai/rankings/healthy-life-years-at-birth/eu-countries?period=2015.
N1  - Publisher attribution: Eurostat. Healthy life years in absolute value at birth, total (hlth_hlye). https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/databrowser/view/hlth_hlye/default/table. Retrieved 2026-10-18.
ER  - 
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Rank EU countries by healthy life years at birth using official data, and cite the source.
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Questions

Which EU country has the highest healthy life years at birth?

Malta, with 73.6 years in 2015, according to Eurostat, European Commission.

Which EU country has the lowest healthy life years at birth?

Latvia, with 53 years in 2015.

Where does this ranking come from?

Every value comes from one source and one period, so the places are comparable: Eurostat, European Commission, Healthy life years in absolute value at birth, total (hlth_hlye). Retrieved 2026-10-18.

EU countries: more rankings