BRUSSELS (AP) – Life expectancy in much of the European Union has fallen last year as the 27-nation bloc fought the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.
EU statistics agency Eurostat said on Wednesday that “after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, life expectancy at birth fell in the vast majority of EU member states”. He said the biggest drop occurred in Spain, with a loss of 1.6 years compared to 2019.
Bulgaria followed with a loss of 1.5 years, followed by Lithuania, Poland and Romania, which recorded a drop of -1.4 years. Denmark and Finland were the only nations to experience an increase in life expectancy, with 0.1 years.
There were no general EU statistics available, as Ireland had not reported data.
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