The estimated life expectancy of newborn Icelandic boys is now 79.6 years, which is a Nordic record, according to new co-Nordic statistics published today. The shortest life expectancy is in Greenland, where men only reach the age of 66.3 years on average.
Icelanders assemble for a demonstration in November last year. Copyright: Icelandic Photo Agency.
The statistics reveal that few Icelandic men smoke, only 20 percent. Swedish men smoke even less, where 87 percent of the male population is smoke-free, visir.is reports.
Icelandic women are topped by their Swedish sisters in terms of life expectancy.
Mbl.is reported in April that newborn Icelandic girls can expect to live to the average age of 83. In the past decade, they have been overtaken by the female population in other countries—in Spain and France, for example, newborn girls are expected to reach the average age of 84.4.
The gap between the life expectancy of men and women is decreasing, both in Iceland and in other countries around the world. In Iceland, it used to be six years in the 1960s and 1970s but is now down to 3.4 years.
Since 2000, Icelandic men have added two years to their average life expectancy. According to preliminary numbers published by Statistics Iceland in April, Iceland boasts the longest-living men in the world.
