Life expectancy now exceeds 80 years in most EU countries reveals “Health at a Glance: Europe 2016“, a European Commission/OECD joint report, published today. However, this record-high life expectancy is not always matched by healthy life years.
Around 50 million people in the EU suffer from several chronic diseases, and more than half a million people of working age die from them every year, representing an annual cost of some €115 billion for EU economies.
The joint report shows that policies that aim at promoting good health and preventing diseases as well as more effective healthcare could save lives and billions of euros in the European Union.
Vytenis Andriukaitis, European Commissioner for Health and Food Safety, said: “The Health at a Glance report provides useful information for Member States to shape their actions on health across all policies. It shows that in the EU many people die every year from potentially avoidable diseases linked to risk factors such as smoking or obesity. It also highlights the need to continue our efforts in making sure that healthcare becomes more accessible. The report represents the flagship of the partnership between the Commission and the OECD to develop country-specific and cross-country knowledge on health and health systems, as the first step of the ‘State of Health in the EU’.”
A Press Release in all languages are available online.
