Trends in life expectancy in EU and other Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries

This paper reports on trends in life expectancy in the 28 EU countries and other high-income OECD countries, and examines potential explanations for the slowdown in improvements in recent years. This downward trend since 2011 has been greatest in the USA, where life expectancy has fallen in recent years, and in the UK, but France, Germany, Sweden and the Netherlands have also seen a sharp slowdown. The report also considers wider contributing factors. Although some risk factors, such as smoking, excessive alcohol consumption, high blood pressure and cholesterol levels, continue to decline in most EU countries, the prevalence of obesity and diabetes continues to rise.