Women on average live longer than men. Not only the gender is a factor, the place where you live in Spain also seems to be decisive when it comes to a longer life expectancy. Furthermore, statistics show that in these Spanish municipalities people live the oldest.
Currently, women in Spain live to an average age of 86.7 years. This compares to an average life expectancy of 81.1 years for men. The National Institute of Statistics in Spain (INE) published figures on life expectancy by Spanish municipality on Wednesday. These figures show where in Spain you become the oldest and in which municipalities residents often die earlier than elsewhere in Spain.
People live the longest in this Spanish region
In the report “Indicadores Urbanos 2022” (Urban indicators), Pozuelo de Alarcón in Madrid is considered the municipality of Spain with the highest life expectancy. Moreover, the average in this city is 85.5 years.
In Madrid, a total of three municipalities exceed the average life expectancy of 85 years. As mentioned Pozuelo de Alarcón (85.5), Majadahonda (85.2) and Las Rozas (85.1). A higher life expectancy is also noticeable in the Basque Country; people live on average over 84 years in Guecho and Vitoria.
Residents in these municipalities die earlier than average
The other extreme is La Línea de la Concepción in Cádiz. Inhabitants of this southern Spanish city generally live 6 years less and have an average life expectancy of 79.9 years. Cádiz, Algericas, Arrecife (Lanzarote) and Linares (Jaén) are the municipalities with the lowest life expectancy. In these places, the average age of death does not exceed 81 years.
Relationship between life expectancy and income in Spain
What is remarkable is that some of these municipalities have already been included in a ranking. Pozuelo de Alarcón has the highest life expectancy. Furthermore, it is also known as the municipality in Spain where people have the highest net annual income. Not only that, according to the INE, this municipality also has the lowest unemployment rate.
On the other hand, the municipalities of Linares (Jaén) and La Línea de la Concepción (Cádiz) are also mentioned as having the highest unemployment rates. Cities where, according to figures from the INE, people die on average years earlier than in other places in Spain.
INE Spain points to the effect of the pandemic
The data from which the INE draws these conclusions have been calculated on the basis of an average over three years. The year 2019 is a reference year because we have been dealing with a pandemic since 2020, which makes the data less representative. In 2019, Spaniards lived an average of 83.6 years compared to 82.3 years in 2020, the year of the pandemic.
However, with an average life expectancy of 83.5 years (average for men and women), Spain is not one of the countries with the highest life expectancy. In Hong Kong (85.3), Japan (85), Switzerland (84.3), for example, people live longer on average.
Also read: Spanish cities with the average number of children per mother
