These are the Czech regions with the highest life expectancy

Life expectancy varies greatly across the Czech Republic according to what region people live in. A boy born last year can expect to reach the age of 74.2 years, while a girl on average will live 80.6 years, according to the Czech Statistical Office (ČSÚ). That means a man will live until the year 2095 and a woman until 2101.

The average life expectancy regardless of gender in Czechia is 78.3 years, which is a bit below the European Union average of 80.4 years.

These ages, of course, are only guesses based on current conditions. Advances in medicine and science could make it even longer, while new diseases or global catastrophes could shorten life expectancy.

The main factors affecting longevity are the environment and the quality of health care. Another important factor is education.

“People with a higher education live longer on average because, on the one hand, they usually take more care of their health, and on the other hand, they have the opportunity to earn an above-standard income without having to work in a risky or health-damaging environment,” statistician Tomáš Fiala from the Faculty of Informatics and Statistics at the Prague University of Economics and Business (VŠE) told new server iDnes.cz.

He added that regional differences in life expectancy can be expected to persist for some time, as education is likely to remain uneven.

The longest life expectancy for any Czech region is in Prague, at 77.1 years for men and 82.3 years for women.

Some individual towns have even higher figures. Men in Nové Město nad Metují will reach 78.4, and in Šlapanice and Čermošice they can expect to live to 77.8. For women, the best towns are Kuřim at 83.6, and Nové Město nad Metují and Náměšť nad Oslavou at 83.4.

Residents of the Ústí nad Labem and Karlovy Vary regions have to worst outlook. Men in Ústí can expect to reach 72.7, which is the lowest for men, and women 79.0. Men are a little better off in the Karlovy Vary region, reaching 72.8 years, but women reach only 78.8 years, which is the lowest for that gender.

The worst towns for men are Orlová at 71.3, Rumburk at 71.4, and Vítkov at 71.5. Women have the lowest life expectancy in Litvínov at 78, and Sokolov and Rumburk at 78.4.

According to the Czech Statistical Office (ČSÚ), over the past 20 years, life expectancy increased in all regions, both for men and women. But even this was uneven, and the gap between the best and worst regions grew. The biggest increases were in Prague and the Liberec and Central Bohemia regions, while the smallest ones were in the Karlovy Vary, Zlín, and Moravia-Silesia regions.

The Covid pandemic has had a significant effect on life expectancy statistics due to its high death toll. In 2020, life expectancy fell for the first time in several decades, and in 2021 it dropped again, as the country had its highest death toll since World War II. It will probably take several years for figures to return to the pre-pandemic level.

Statisticians Boris Burcin and Tomáš Kučera from the Department of Demography and Geodemography of the Faculty of Science of Charles University told iDnes.cz that life expectancy should start to rise again from this year, but it might not reach the 2019 level for women until 2025. For men it will take two years longer. Those figures are tentative, as the pandemic is still unfolding.

The highest average life expectancies in Europe are all in non-EU states: Norway at 83.3 years, and Switzerland and Iceland at 83.1. Ireland has the highest of any EU state, at 82.6. The lowest are in Romania at 74.2 and Bulgaria at 73.6.