Those born in Bolzano have 14 more years of healthy life than in Basilicata
ISTAT photographs differences in health that are difficult to accept in a country where the SSN should guarantee the same level of care throughout Italy
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Key points
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Those born in Bolzano will benefit from almost 14 years more (13.7 to be exact) of healthy life than those born in Basilicata: the South Tyroleans average 66.5 years of life without illness compared to 52.8 for the Lucanians. This is one of the most evident health inequalities that emerges from the latest Istat's Bes report, which photographs differences in health that are difficult to accept in a country where the National Health Service should guarantee the same level of care throughout the country. Certainly there are many variables to weigh, starting with lifestyles such as sedentariness and diet, which greatly influence the health of Italians, but the gap between North and South is still too wide. And it can also be seen in life expectancy, since in Trento the average wait is 84.6 years, 3.2 years longer than in Campania.
North-South gaps in healthy life expectancy
For the healthy life expectancy indicator, Istat's latest estimate for 2023 stands at 59.2 years, which is closer to that of 2019 (58.6 years), i.e. before Covid. But what Istat points out is that "the North-South territorial gap widens again with respect to 2022". The geographical differential of life expectancy in good health in 2023 is in fact about 4 years "to the disadvantage of the South (56.5 years), compared to the North (60.6). Thus, although the residents of Trento are the longest-living in Italy in 2023, "those who can expect to live the most years in good health are the inhabitants of Bolzano: 66.5 years of the 84.1 years expected at birth, equal to about 80% of the years to be lived, compared to 64.2 years in Trento (equal to 76% of the expected life)". Among the Regions that combine high life expectancy at birth and healthy life expectancy are also Tuscany and Veneto (62.5 and 62.3 years respectively in good health with 83.8 expected life expectancy for both). Valle d'Aosta, despite having one of the highest levels of life expectancy in good health (64) is in line with the Italian average for expected life (83.1 years). At the opposite end of the scale are almost all the regions of southern Italy: Basilicata is the region with the lowest number of years of healthy life expectancy (52.8 years of the 82.5 to live) in 2023, followed by Molise (54.9) and Calabria (55.4) with 82.4 and 82.0 years of life expectancy respectively. Although Campania ranks at the lowest level of average life expectancy in Italy, it presents a value of 57.1 as years of healthy life, surpassed only by Abruzzo (60.6 years) considering the regions of southern Italy. If we compare the highest value of life in good health, namely Bolzano with 66.5 years with the lowest value that of Basilicata with 52.8 years, the difference is almost 13.7 years.
On life expectancy Italy drops to fourth place in Europe
According to the latest provisional estimates for 2023 life expectancy at birth stands at 83.1 years in Italy, an estimated increase of about 6 months compared to 2022 (it was 82.6 years). In 2023, this indicator shows a further improvement, almost fully recovering the loss of expected life years due to the pandemic (83.2 years in 2019). Men, with 81.1 years of expected life expectancy, return to the same level as in 2019, the year in which the highest value ever recorded was reached, while for women (85.2 years) there are still 0.2 years missing from the maximum level of 2019 (it was 85.4). In the European context, the most up-to-date available figure of 2022 allows a comparison of the extent of the recovery of the years lost during the pandemic between the different EU countries. In 2019, the year preceding the pandemic, Italy's life expectancy at birth of 83.6 years ranked second in the EU countries' ranking after Spain (84.0), while in 2022 it will be in fourth place with 82.8 years, after Spain (83.2), Sweden (83.1) and Luxembourg (83.0); while at the lowest level of the ranking Bulgaria (74.2 years) is also confirmed in 2022, followed by Latvia (74.5) and Romania (75.1).
Large differences also in life expectancy between North and South
At the regional level, the well-known gaps are confirmed in 2023, with the highest average expected life expectancy at birth in Trento, equal to 84.6 years, 3.2 years more than in Campania (81.4 years). Particularly among the northern regions, Trento (84.6 years in 2023) has regained the year and a half lost (84.3 years in 2019) and also improved on the expected survival levels, standing at the top of the list of regions in 2023, followed by Bolzano (84.1). Also improving on 2019 were Valle d'Aosta (83.1 vs 82.7 years) and Lombardy, which reached 83.9 years (it was 83.6), again the best level ever achieved. Among the regions of the Centre, while all recovering compared to 2022 (about +0.4 or +0.5 years), only Tuscany (83.8) and Lazio (83.3) also exceed the 2019 value. On the other hand, among the regions of Southern Italy, only Basilicata (82.5) is in line with 2019. Molise and Sardinia still have to make up at least six months compared to the pre-pandemic figure: in 2023 the average life expectancy at birth is estimated at 82.4 and 82.5 years respectively (it was 83.0 years in both regions in 2019).
