Regional differences in changes in life expectancy at age 65 2020–2021
Regional differences in changes in life expectancy at age 65 2020–2021
Statistical news from Statistics Sweden 2022-06-22 8.00
During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, remaining life expectancy at age 65 dropped from 20.8 years to 20.2 years. Large variations between counties exist. Remaining life expectancy dropped by approximately 1 year in some counties whereas increased by 0.1–0.2 years in some other.
The corona pandemic led to a clear increase in mortality among the older people. The increase in mortality was greater among men than among women. Generally, deaths often occur at older ages. This also applies to deaths caused by the COVID-19. Therefore, in this report we focus on the changes in life expectancy at age 65. Higher death rates in 2020 relative to 2019 led to a clear decline in life expectancy at age 65 by about half a year, from 20.8 years in 2019 to 20.2 years in 2020. In contrast, remaining life expectancy at age 65 increased by an average of 0.1–0.2 years in the period 2006–2014.
Large regional differences
In 2020, remaining life expectancy at age 65 dropped in 16 out of 21 counties. The drop was approximately 1 year in Stockholm and Kronoberg County and 0.4 year in Västra Götaland County. There was no statistically significant decline in five counties - Västerbotten, Gotland, Örebro, Värmland and Jämtland. The pre-pandemic increasing trend of life expectancy at age 65 continued at a normal pace in Västerbotten and Gotland County.
In almost half of the counties, statistically significant declines of life expectancy were seen for women and men. The largest decline for women was in Kronoberg County with a loss of 1.4 years, and for men it was in Södermanland County with a loss of 1.3 years.
The higher death rates in COVID-19 for men in 2020 can explain the greater decline of life expectancy for men than for women in Sweden. It is not always the case that the decline of life expectancy was larger for men than for women. In Kronoberg County, for example, the decline for women was larger than that for men.
*Statistically significant. Remaining life expectancy in 2019 shown in parenthesis. Sorted by size of change
Higher life expectancy in Örebro and Stockholm 2021 relative to 2019
Remaining life expectancy for people aged 65 was higher in 2021 compared to 2020 in almost all counties. Life expectancy for women in 2021 reversed to the level of 2019 at the national level, but this is not the case for the total population. Few counties had a significantly higher life expectancy in 2021 compared to 2019. Nonetheless, exceptions exist. For the total population, life expectancy in Örebro and Stockholm County was significantly higher in 2021 than in 2019. Life expectancy for women in Stockholm County in 2021 was higher than that of 2019, but not for men. In some counties, for example Skåne, life expectancy in 2021 was still significantly lower than that of 2019 for women and men, either respectively or taken together.
This report describes changes in life expectancy at age 65 in recent years in the 21 counties and the eight larger regions.
Definitions and explanations
Average remaining life expectancy is usually referred to as "life expectancy". It is an index that describes mortality in all ages for a year or a specific period. Mortality is presented in a life table and the average number of years remaining is calculated for all ages. In this report, we give an account of remaining life expectancy at age 65.
These statistics are based on register information from the population aged 65 and older for the years 2019 to 2021.
Publication
Feel free to use the facts from this statistical news but remember to state Source: Statistics Sweden.