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Life expectancy in France hits a record - and births plummet
People in France can now expect to live the longest ever from birth, but the birth rate is dropping, and the population is ageing overall
MAP: See how life expectancy rates vary across France
Recent figures show people live on average longer than in many other western countries; women in France fare particularly well
People living in France have a higher life expectancy than those in many other countries including the UK, US and Germany, recently released official figures show.
The rates vary across France, though, as our map below charting departmental differences highlights.
In 2022, the average national life expectancy for men in France was 79.3 while for women it was 85.2.
These figures, from the state statistics agency Insee, are slightly higher than in the UK where the gap between men and women is smaller. Figures for 2022 in the UK are not readily available but 2021 figures show 78.7 for men and 82.8 for women.
Official figures for the US in 2022 are also still to be published, however in 2021 the average life expectancy was at a two-decade low, standing at 79.1 for women, and 73.2 for men.
We have broken down the average life expectancy by department in France, according to figures for 2021 from Insee - the latest departmental data released.
In 2021, Hauts-de-Seine had the highest average life expectancy in France at 84.5 (82.1 for men and 86.9 for women) while Aisne had the lowest at 79.7 (76.2 for men and 83.2 for women).
You can hover over the figures for each department in our map below.
France’s life expectancy compares favourably to many other European countries, particularly for women.
In fact, for women it exceeds that of Sweden, Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands.
Below you can see a graph of the life expectancy in other countries for 2021.
Sources: Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker / Comunidad de Madrid / Dire / Insee
Over the past year, life expectancy in France has increased slightly year-on-year but it has still not returned to the levels seen in the years preceding the pandemic.
It is also slightly lower both for men and for women than when President Emmanuel Macron came to power in 2017. For men, this was 79.4 years, and for women 85.3.
The highest levels recorded were in 2019, before the start of the Covid- with 79.7 for men, and 85.6 for women.
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