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With an average of 84 years, people in Switzerland have a high life expectancy. But there are cantonal differences. An aging researcher explains why this could be.
People around the world are living longer and longer: American researchers have now published a number. Between 1990 and 2021, life expectancy increased by 6.2 years.
A study published in the specialist magazine “The Lancet” states that the reason for this is that intestinal infections and respiratory diseases are becoming less and less fatal. The average global life expectancy is now around 72 years.
More and more centenarians
In comparison, people in Switzerland live much longer on average. Girls born in 2022 will be 85.4 years old on average, boys 81.6 years old.
In addition, there are more and more people across Switzerland who are living to be 100 years old or older – and almost 100 centenarians are added every year. According to an evaluation at the end of 2022 by the Federal Statistical Office, 22 out of 100,000 residents were over 100 years old. Most of them lived in the canton of Ticino, followed by the cantons of Neuchâtel, Basel-Stadt and Geneva. According to statistics, the fewest people lived in the cantons of Appenzell Innerrhoden and Zug.
But such evaluations should be treated with caution, says Sabina Misoch, professor of aging research at the OST, Eastern Switzerland University of Applied Sciences. “When making cantonal comparisons, other dimensions should be taken into account – including social status, social integration and training.” The ranking of the cantons in which most people live to be 100 or older should be viewed as a statistical snapshot.
“It may be that people in old age from smaller cantons move to another region because of better infrastructure,” says Misoch, “but you cannot conclude that people in Ticino live healthier lives just because there are more people there due to the demographic structure People over 65 years of age and therefore also more 100-year-olds live.
Old, older, Geneva?
There are also cantonal differences in life expectancy. This is what the latest federal statistics say for 2021 and 2022. According to their analysis, people born in the canton of Geneva have the highest life expectancy. Women born there in 2020 and 2021 even have a life expectancy of 86.6 years. For men the expectation is 83.1 years. The canton of St. Gallen, on the other hand, has a comparatively low life expectancy. In recent years, life expectancy for women has been 84.5 years and for men 80.5 years.
So should you move to Geneva now to live as long as possible? “It would be completely unscientific if I said yes,” says age researcher Misoch. “At the moment, everything that we researchers can make about such statistics is just speculation.” However, aging research is increasingly trying to focus on factors such as attitude to life, social integration, social conditions or geographical conditions so that more meaningful statements can be made regarding regional differences in life expectancy.