Life expectancy in Spain is highest in EU and fourth-highest in the world
Friday, December 5, 2014 @ 6:01 PM
SPAIN has the highest life expectancy in the European Union – it's official, according to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
Women in Spain typically live to 85-and-a-half and men to 79-and-a-half, putting the average for both sexes at 82-and-a-half.
This has risen by five years and six months since the year 1990, compared to an average of 5.1 years across Europe as a whole.
The OECD puts this down to the 'excellent public health system' in the country.
Switzerland and Iceland, with an average for both sexes of 82.8 years and 83 years respectively, mean Spain's life expectancy is the third-highest in Europe, but is the highest in the EU as Switzerland and Iceland are not among its 28 member States.
Within the 34 countries in the OECD – considered to be the 'first world' and 'emerging' countries – Spain's women live the second-longest after females in Japan, who reach an average of 86.4 years.
Read more at thinkSPAIN.com