Danes living longer, but not as long as the Swedes

Denmark still has a low life expectancy compared to other countries in western Europe

A new report from the Finance Ministry has found that the life expectancy of Danes has increased significantly since the 1990s.

The report (here in Danish) revealed that over the past 20 years, the life expectancy for Danish men and women aged 60 has risen by 4.2 and 3.4 years. The increase has taken place across low, middle and high income groups.

“This is a victory for our society and our development,” said Kristian Jensen, the finance minister.

“Life expectancy is a resource in short supply and one you can’t borrow to obtain, so when it increases considerably for Danes across all segments of society, it’s truly a happy bit of news.”

READ MORE: Life expectancy for Danish women falls slightly

Behind Sweden
The median life expectancy in Denmark is 78.8 years for men and 82.8 years for women. But there is room for improvement.

Denmark lags behind compared to a number of other western European nations, such as Sweden and France, where the life expectancy is 1.5 years higher than in Denmark. The people of Spain and Italy also live longer than the Danes.

According to the health minister, Karen Ellemann, the Danes could improve by cutting down on smoking and alcohol consumption, while they could also do with getting some more exercise.

READ MORE: Danes do more exercise than other EU nations

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