Healthy life years
Topic: Population and health
A newborn in Italy can expect 73.4 years of life without being limited in usual activities by a health problem, against 52.5 years in Latvia.
In 2024, a newborn in the EU could expect 65.2 years of life without being limited in usual activities by a health problem, if the death rates and the shares of people with such limitations of that year held throughout their life. A limitation counts when people say in a survey that it has lasted at least six months.
- Figures for:
- 2024.
- Covers:
- the whole year.
- New data:
- once a year.
- Dataset updated:
- 17 July 2026.
Published 4 November 2026
The ranking
In 2024, healthy life years at birth ranged from 52.5 years in Latvia to 73.4 years in Italy.
Luxembourg has no value for this period.
Healthy life years at birth, years
2024Women and men
Among men, the spread across countries was slightly wider. Italy was again the highest, at 72.9 years, and Latvia again the lowest, at 51.1 years. The gap was 21.8 years.
Among women, the spread across countries was slightly narrower than among men. Latvia was again the lowest, at 53.9 years, and Italy again the highest, at 73.8 years. The gap between Italy and Latvia was 19.9 years.
Healthy life years at birth: men and women, years
2024| Everyone | Men | Women | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lowest | 52.5 yearsLatvia | 51.1 yearsLatvia | 53.9 yearsLatvia |
| Highest | 73.4 yearsItaly | 72.9 yearsItaly | 73.8 yearsItaly |
| Highest − lowest | 20.9 years | 21.8 years | 19.9 years |
Healthy years and all years
In 2024, a newborn in the EU could expect 81.5 years of life, 65.2 years of them without being limited in usual activities by a health problem.
Healthy life years and life expectancy at birth, years
2024At 65
In 2024, people aged 65 in the EU could expect 20.2 years more of life, 10.3 years of them without being limited in usual activities by a health problem.
Healthy life years and life expectancy at 65, years
2024About the data
Healthy life years at birth are the number of years a newborn can expect to live without being limited in usual activities by a health problem, if the death rates and the shares of people with such limitations of that year held throughout their life.
Eurostat: “Healthy life years, abbreviated as HLY and also called disability-free life expectancy (DFLE), is defined as the number of years that a person is expected to continue to live in a healthy condition (i.e. without any activity limitation). This statistical indicator is compiled separately for men and women, at birth and at ages 50 and 65. It is based on age-specific prevalence (proportions) of the population in healthy and unhealthy condition and age-specific mortality information.” (source)
Calculated by Eurostat from two sources. The death rates come from the deaths and population figures the national statistical institutes report. The shares of people limited in their usual activities come from EU statistics on income and living conditions (EU-SILC), a yearly sample survey of households.
How to read these numbers
How it is measured
Healthy life years are calculated from the death rates and the shares of people with an activity limitation of a single year. They are not a forecast of how many healthy years people born that year will actually have.
A healthy year here is a year without a limitation in usual activities because of a health problem, as people report it in the survey. Only a limitation lasting at least six months counts. The answers reflect people's own perceptions and, to some extent, their social and cultural background.
Countries have not all asked the survey question on activity limitations in the same way. Eurostat warns that this can hamper comparisons between countries and over time for some countries.
The shares of people with an activity limitation come from people living in private households. People in institutions, such as care homes, are not covered, although they are more likely to face activity limitations.
Luxembourg has no healthy life years for 2023 and 2024. Its latest value is for 2022.
Denmark, Spain, Italy, Portugal and Romania changed or revised their survey question on activity limitations in 2024. Eurostat marks a break in 2024 for all five. Their values for 2024 are not fully comparable with earlier years. The EU figure for 2024 includes their values.
Provisional figures
A provisional value (flag p) may still be revised. This concerns France (2024) and Lithuania (2024).
Estimates
A value with flag e is an estimate, not measured or counted in full. This concerns Romania (2024).
Sources and data
Eurostat, Healthy life years by sex (from 2004 onwards) (hlth_hlye). Data updated 17 July 2026, retrieved 4 November 2026. Licence: CC BY 4.0.
Eurostat metadata · Eurostat methodology
https://ec.europa.eu/eurostat/api/dissemination/statistics/1.0/data/hlth_hlye?format=JSON&lang=en&freq=A&geo=AT&geo=BE&geo=BG&geo=CY&geo=CZ&geo=DE&geo=DK&geo=EE&geo=EL&geo=ES&geo=EU27_2020&geo=FI&geo=FR&geo=HR&geo=HU&geo=IE&geo=IT&geo=LT&geo=LU&geo=LV&geo=MT&geo=NL&geo=PL&geo=PT&geo=RO&geo=SE&geo=SI&geo=SK&hlth_hle=HLY_Y0&sex=T&unit=YRRelated stories
-
Unmet needs for medical care
In Greece, 11.5% of people aged 16 or over went without medical care they needed because of the cost, the distance or a waiting list, against 0.1% in Cyprus and Malta (2025)
-
Excess mortality
11.1% fewer people died in Lithuania than on average in 2016–2019, and 18.0% more in Luxembourg (May 2026)
-
Europe's population in 2100
In Eurostat's baseline projection, the population of Latvia would fall by 33.94%, and that of Luxembourg would grow by 36.43% (2025–2100)
-
How old women are when their first child is born
Women in Italy are 31.9 years old on average when their first child is born, against 26.9 years in Bulgaria (2024)