Life expectancy in Germany has fallen slightly for the first time in years due to Covid-19. Between 2019 and 2020, the value fell by 0.1 years for women and 0.3 years for men, the Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB) announced on Tuesday in Wiesbaden. Before the pandemic, life expectancy increased by an average of 0.1 year each year.
“Of course, life expectancy is not only influenced by Covid-19,” explained Pavel Grigoriev from the BiB. However, according to detailed death statistics, the disease had a significant impact on life expectancy in many countries.
Only slight decrease in international comparison
In an international comparison, the value in Germany fell only slightly. Life expectancy fell significantly more in the USA, for example. According to the institute, it was reduced there by 2.2 years for men and by 1.7 years for women. These are “very exceptional values” for a highly developed country, explained Grigoriev. “They illustrate the danger that the coronavirus can pose if few containment measures are taken.”
In comparison with other European countries, Germany recorded a relatively small decline in life expectancy. In Poland, Spain and Italy it fell by more than a year each for men and women in 2020. There was an even smaller decline in Europe than in Germany only in parts of the north. “In Northern Europe only Sweden has recorded major declines in life expectancy,” explained Sebastian Klüsener, from the BiB. “Compared to the other northern European countries, Sweden had also taken fewer containment measures.”
According to the BiB, there are also differences between the federal states
As in neighboring Denmark, life expectancy increased in Schleswig-Holstein. Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania also recorded an above-average value. Saxony, on the other hand, which was particularly affected by the pandemic, experienced a reduced life expectancy of 0.7 years in men. In women, the value decreased by 0.5 years. Life expectancy in Bavaria fell the most in the west of the republic. (AFP)