site.btaBulgaria Among EU Countries with Lowest Life Expectancy at Birth

Sofia, May 11 (BTA) - The Bulgarian population's life expectancy at birth calculated for the 2015-2017 period was 74.8 years, which is an increase by 0.1 years compared to the previous period (2014-2016), show data released by the National Statistical Institute (NSI) on Friday. This places Bulgaria among the EU Member States with the lowest life expectancy at birth, along with Lithuania and Latvia (74.9 years).

In comparison, the highest life expectancy at birth in the EU is 83.5 years, registered in Spain.

Life expectancy at birth indicates the average expected duration of a life of a newborn under the hypothesis for a constant intensity of the age specific mortality observed for the respective year, the NSI explains.

In 2015-2017, different mortality rates among male and female Bulgarians, as well as among Bulgaria's urban and rural population, resulted in differences in the life expectancy at birth for these population categories. Life expectancy at birth for men was 71.3 years, increasing by 2.0 years between 2007 and 2017, while for women it was 78.4 years, increasing by 2.1 years between 2007 and 2017. The life expectancy of the urban population was 75.6 years, up by 2.6 years compared to 2007, while that of the rural population was 72.8 years, up by 1.3 years compared to 2007.

Life expectancy at age 65 was 16.1 years (14.1 years for men and 17.7 years for women). Between 2007 and 2017, this life expectancy increased by 1.3 years (1.0 for men and 1.5 years for women).

Life expectancy at birth varied from 72.9 years in the northwestern regions of Vratsa and Montana to 76.4 years in the regions of Sofia and Kurdzhali. Eight regions had life expectancy above the country average. Women lived longer than men in all regions, but the biggest difference between sexes was registered in Kyustendil (8.0 years) and the smallest, in Shoumen (5.9 years).