Where to live the longest, healthiest life in Europe

Malta, according to a recent Eurostat study, is the top country in the European Union for healthy long lives.

Eurostat, the EU’s own office for statistics, says, Malta is the best place in the European Union for leading a long and healthy life. Maintaining quality of life in old age is becoming a concern as the overall European population is living longer and the proportion of pensioners is expanding.

The number of years that an average individual will live without any limits or health impairments is known as ‘healthy life expectancy’, and it indicates how effectively EU member states are helping their citizens maintain their health as they age.

Less likely to suffer chronic illness in Malta

Using data from 2022, the new research found that Malta, an island nation in the Mediterranean, ranked highest for both men and women. Malta’s ‘healthy’ life expectancy is 70.3 years for women and 70.1 years for men.

Malta has almost complete state health coverage and its elderly are less likely to suffer chronic health issues than anywhere else in Europe. For women, the next best countries for a longer healthy life are Bulgaria, Slovenia, Italy, and Greece. The numbers are slightly different for men, with Sweden at the number two spot, followed by Italy, Greece, and Cyprus.

At the other end of the scale, Denmark is the least good of all for women hoping to lead a long healthy life, followed by Latvia, the Netherlands, and Finland. For men, Latvia is statistically the worst, followed by Slovakia, Denmark, and Estonia.

And, if you were thinking it had all to do with the famous Mediterranean diet, think again. Of all the EU countries studied with Malta and Italy at the top, and Denmark and Latvia generally being the worst, where is Spain in the ranking? – In the middle, below Ireland, France and Hungary.