All OECD countries have experienced tremendous gains in life expectancy at age 65 for both men and women in recent decades, although these gains have been diminished by the impact of COVID‑19. On average across OECD countries, life expectancy at age 65 increased by 6 years between 1970 and 2021, and by 2.1 years between 2000 and 2021. Five countries (Korea, Ireland, Chile, Australia and Portugal) enjoyed gains of a least 3 years between 2000 and 2021; five countries (United States, Poland, Latvia, Hungary and the Slovak Republic) experienced an increase of less than 1 year over the period, and one country (Mexico) experienced a slight decrease of 0.3 years (Figure 10.3). In Lithuania, life expectancy at age 65 remained unchanged between 2000 and 2021.
On average across OECD countries in 2021, people at age 65 could expect to live a further 19.5 years. Life expectancy at age 65 is around 3.3 years higher for women than for men. This gender gap has not changed substantially since 2000, when life expectancy at age 65 was 3.5 years higher for women than men. Among OECD countries, life expectancy at age 65 in 2021 was highest for women in Spain (23.5 years) and for men in Iceland (20.5 years). It was lowest for women in the Slovak Republic (17.1 years) and for men in Latvia (12.7 years) (Figure 10.4).
While almost all OECD countries experienced gains in life expectancy at age 65 between 2000 and 2021, not all additional years are lived in good health. The number of healthy life‑years at age 65 varies substantially across OECD countries (Figure 10.4). In the European Union (EU), an indicator of disability-free life expectancy known as “healthy life‑years” is calculated regularly, based on a general question about disability in the EU Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) survey. On average across OECD countries participating in the survey, the number of healthy life‑years at age 65 was 10 years for women and 9.6 for men in 2021 – a noticeably smaller difference between men and women than that for general life expectancy at age 65. Healthy life expectancy at age 65 was close to or above 14 years for both men and women in Norway and Sweden; for men, this was nearly 2 years above the next-best performing countries (Iceland and Ireland). Healthy life expectancy at 65 was around 5 years or less for both men and women in the Slovak Republic and Latvia. In these countries, women spend nearly three‑quarters of their additional life‑years in poor health, compared to one‑third or less in Norway and Sweden.
The COVID‑19 pandemic had a significant effect on life expectancy, especially among older populations, who are at a higher risk of developing severe symptoms and dying because of underlying health conditions and frailty. More than 90% of all cumulative COVID‑19 deaths were among people aged 60 and over, and more than 50% were among those aged 80 and over on average across 22 OECD countries by April 2022 (OECD, 2023[1]). Between 2019 and 2021, life expectancy at age 65 declined in all 26 OECD countries with available data, falling by an average of 6 months. Life expectancy at age 65 declined by more than 1 year in nine countries (the Slovak Republic, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Greece and the United States), while it increased slightly in eight countries (Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Costa Rica, Iceland, Korea, Australia and Chile). As population ageing continues, OECD countries will need to anticipate health challenges that can disproportionately affect older people, and make structural changes to strengthen resilience.
