LIFE-EXPECTANCY figures in Spain have fallen for the first time in history, a situation thought to be linked to the economic crisis.

Residents in Spain normally live longer than practically any other country in the world and life expectancy is higher than the European average by over two years.

But last year's figures of 79.16 years for men (79 years, eight weeks and two days) and 84.97 years for women (85 years less 11 days) have fallen to 79.01 years for men (79 years and four days) and 84.72 years for women (84 years, eight months and three weeks).

A reduction in life expectancy has never happened before in Spain, except in 1998 when a brief drop for women from 82 years to 81 years and six months occurred, although the male life expectancy of 74 years and six months was not affected.

Even then, it remains above the average for the 27 member States of the EU, which is currently 82 years and six months for women and 76 years and eight-and-a-half months for men.

And Spain has one of the highest percentages of natives aged 100 or over.

According to the National Statistics Institute (INE), life expectancy varies sharply across Spain and socio-economic factors can cause it to rise or fall.

Added money worries, stress and unemployment which may lead to retirees being forced to feed and house their adult children, together with pension and healthcare funding cuts, among other recession-related problems, are leading to a lesser quality of mental and physical health across the board, says the INE.

Research has shown that even people who eat a healthy diet and are of a normal weight are more likely to suffer diabetes, strokes and heart complaints as a result of stress and anxiety, which also leads to taking up unhealthy habits such as smoking and excess drinking.

But the demographic trend in Spain remains that of a so-called 'ageing population', the INE reveals.

With the birth-rate at an all-time low due to men and women of child-bearing age being unable to afford to have, or preferring not to risk having, children in light of the currently unstable job market, and foreign mothers – who have, historically, kept the birth-rate up – now fewer in number due to mass repatriations in the face of limited employment opportunities, the average age of the country's population is climbing.

The number of people aged 65 and over is expected to rocket in the next 10 to 30 years.



