Bes Report

Istat, healthy life expectancy drops to 58.1 years, but people live longer on average than in other EU countries

Life expectancy at birth reaches a new high at 83.4 years (85.5 for women and 81.4 for men)

by Mariolina Sesto

13 November 2025

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

Key points

Half of the over 74s suffer from chronic diseases
Mental Health
Tobacco smokers and alcohol consumption
Healthy life expectancy
Life expectancy at age 65

4' min read

Translated by AI

Versione italiana

In 2024, healthy life expectancy drops to 58.1 years in Italy, compared to 59.1 years in 2023 and 58.6 years in 2019. On the other hand, life expectancy at birth reaches a new high with 83.4 years (85.5 years for women and 81.4 years for men). It is stable compared to 2023 and much higher than in 2014 (82.6 years). In Europe, Italy is in a favourable position: life expectancy at birth is more than 2 years higher than the average of the 27 EU countries. These are the data published by Istat in the Rapporto Bes 2024 'Il Benessere Equo e Sostenibile in Italia'.

Half of the over 74s suffer from chronic diseases

In 2024, almost half of the over 74s suffer from chronic diseases or severe limitations in the activities they usually perform (48.9%). Chronic conditions and severe limitations among the over 74s are stable compared to 2023, but in 2024 the value is slightly lower than in 2014 (51.9%). In 2022, cancer mortality among adults aged 20-64 is 7.6 per 10,000 residents, with higher values among men (8.0) than women (7.1). It decreases slightly compared to 2021 (7.8), and continues the decline of recent years (in 2012 it was 9.5). The reduction is more significant among men: the gender gap drops from 2.4 points in 2012 to 0.9 in 2022.

Mental Health

In 2024, the mental health index (MH) for the population aged 14 years and over is 68.7. Women have a lower score than men (66.5 versus 70.9). Compared to 2016, the indicator value worsens among young people (from 73.4 to 71.8), especially among girls (from 70.8 to 68.5). In 2022, mortality due to dementia and diseases of the nervous system among the over-64s is 35.3 deaths per 10,000 residents, higher among men (35.5) than among women (34.5). From 2012 to 2022, the value rises from 29.9 to 35.3 deaths per 10,000 residents, with similar increases in both sexes.

Tobacco smokers and alcohol consumption

The ISTAT research shows that in 2024, tobacco smokers are 20.5 per cent of people aged 14 years and over, a share that has increased slightly since 2023 (19.9 per cent), but is more pronounced than in 2019 (18.7 per cent). The habit is more prevalent among men (23.8%) than women (17.4%), but the gender gap has narrowed (from 9.1 points in 2014 to 6.4 points in 2024), as the share among men has decreased and increased among women. In 2024, 16% of people aged 14 years and older have risky alcohol consumption behaviour. After fluctuations between 2020 and 2022, the phenomenon stabilised at levels similar to 2014 (15.9%). Higher among men (22.5 %) than among women (9.7 %), over time, however, the gap narrows and women's behaviour slowly aligns with men's (the gap was 15.1 percentage points in 2014, falls to 12.8 percentage points in 2024). In 2024, the road fatality rate among 15-34 year olds is 0.6 deaths per 10,000 residents, stable compared to the previous year. The gender gap is confirmed, with a higher value for men (one per 10,000) than for women (0.2).

Sedentariness

In 2024, 32.7 per cent of people aged 14 and over are sedentary, i.e. they do not engage in sport or physical activity in their free time. Women are more sedentary than men (35.0% vs. 30.3%). Sedentariness is decreasing compared to 2014 (40.4%) and, in the long run, the reduction is most evident among people aged 55 and over (-10 percentage points), those traditionally more sedentary. In 2024, 45.1% of adults are overweight, a stable figure compared to 2023 and 2014. However, the share of people with obesity increases to 11.3% in 2024, up from 10.0% in 2014. Excess weight is more prevalent among men (54.3%) than women (36.4%), in all age groups.

Hope for a healthy life

In 2024, 16.2% of people aged 3 years and over will consume at least 4 portions of fruit and/or vegetables per day, a figure that is stable compared to 2023 (16.5%), but down from 2016-2018 (20%). Women are more virtuous than men (18.3% vs. 13.9%), however, compared to 2016 they have experienced a greater decrease (-4.6 points, -2.7 points men). In 2024, healthy life expectancy drops to 58.1 years, compared to 59.1 years in 2023 and 58.6 years in 2019. The worsening of the perception of good health (at 67.1% in 2024, down 1.3 percentage points from 2023) weighs on this decline. Women record the lowest value in the last 10 years: 56.6 years of life expectancy in good health, a gap of 3.2 years compared to men (59.8 years). In 2024, life expectancy without activity limitations at age 65 is 10.4 years, slightly down from 2023 (10.6 years), but up from 2014 (9.6 years).

Life expectancy at age 65

Men at the age of 65 have an expected life expectancy of 19.8 years, more than half (54%) to live without limitations, while women expect to live another 22.6 years, less than half (46%) of which without limitations. In 2022, avoidable mortality between the ages of 0 and 74 is 17.6 deaths per 10,000 residents, an improvement on both 2021 (19.2) and 2014 (18.2). It is significantly higher among men (23.2 per 10,000) than among women (12.5 per 10,000), although it has decreased more for men over the past 10 years, so that the gender gap has narrowed from 13 to 10.7 points. In 2022, infant mortality is 2.5 deaths per 1,000 live births, slightly lower than in 2021 (2.6). It remains higher among males (2.7 per 1,000 live births) than among females (2.3), although the reduction only affects the former, while the value among females is stable.

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