What Country Has Life in Old Age Longer and Healthier?
"In the end, it is not the years in your life that count. It is the life in your years," goes the saying. Lots of men and women fear that a trade-off between the two is unavoidable: they might live to a very old age. However, their final years may be spent in health.
Data from 30 European countries imply that such a trade-off is dependent upon where folks live, and if they are people (see interactive graph below). The number of years of healthy life that the average person can expect comes from a questionnaire asking people about health issues that limit their usual daily tasks.
On average, European women who turn 65 can expect to live about three years more than men at that age, who have a lifetime expectancy of 17.4 years. However, women tend to devote much of that extra time in bad health; the range of years for women and men is the same, at just more than twice.
Does it help to live in one of the wealthier countries of Europe? The data imply that life expectancy at age 65 rises with the prosperity of a country, but only up to some point. The trend equals at a GDP per person of about $30,000, which is roughly the dividing line between western and eastern Europe. The time spent linearly with the wealth of a country in good health gains. Italian 65-year-olds, as an instance, can expect to stay as ones about the same number of decades, even though Norway is richer than Italy. However, Norway is most likely to spend nearly 80 percent of the time in great health, whereas individuals in Italy can expect for just 40%.
This might be a result of nations' spending on infrastructure and public services. Characteristic health problems such as difficulties with eyesight or hearing are not fatal; but unless people spaces are accommodated to the needs of the elderly, and unless they're dealt with, they can make life miserable. Street signals, Pavements, and pedestrian signs, for example, are often designed for the young and able-bodied. Richer nations have more money. Which might not extend lifespans, but it might help people make the most of their years.
