Healthy life expectancy: definition, France, Europe

What is healthy life expectancy?

For Insee, healthy life expectancy is the average number of years a person can expect to live without irreversible limitation of everyday activity or disability, for a hypothetical generation exposed to that year's mortality and morbidity conditions. It is also called disability-free life expectancy or healthy life years. In France, the indicator is computed by Drees from the activity limitations people report.

How is it different from life expectancy?

Life expectancy is a statistical average: according to the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing, it describes a population and does not predict how long any one person will live. Healthy life expectancy keeps only the part lived without limitation. The institute calls healthspan the period of life spent in good health, and longevity the fact of living a long life.

The words used in this field

Several similar terms circulate, and they are not interchangeable. The list below fixes the meaning each source gives.

Life expectancy

The average number of years a hypothetical generation can expect to live; a statistical average for a population, not a forecast for a person.⁶

Healthy life expectancy

The part of that average lived without activity limitation or disability; also called disability-free life expectancy or healthy life years.¹

Healthspan

The period of life spent in good health, according to the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing.⁶

Longevity

The fact of living a long life, in the same institute's usage.⁶

Hypothetical generation

A statistical device: people exposed, at every age, to the conditions of one given year.

What are the figures?

According to the WHO, global life expectancy rose back to 73.3 years in 2023, nearly its 2019 level (73.4 years), while healthy life expectancy, at 62.8 years, was still 0.4 years below its pre-pandemic level.

What the EU numbers show when you do the arithmetic

The Eurostat figures in the table include the share of life lived in good health, and a short calculation by this page adds the remainder. For women in the European Union in 2023, a life expectancy of 84.0 years and 63.3 healthy life years leave about 20.7 years lived with some limitation. For men, a life expectancy of 78.7 years and 62.8 healthy life years leave about 15.9 years. Women therefore have a higher life expectancy on average, but a smaller share of their life is free of limitation: 75.4% against 79.8% for men.³

The United Kingdom figures show the same shape in a different indicator: men could expect 60.7 years in good general health, or 77% of life, and women 60.9 years, or 73%.⁵ Each source defines the gap in its own way, which is why this page compares the pattern, not the exact values.

At world level, the WHO figures for 2023 give a life expectancy of 73.3 years and a healthy life expectancy of 62.8 years, a difference of 10.5 years that this page calculated. The WHO also notes that life expectancy had almost returned to its 2019 level, while healthy life expectancy was still 0.4 years below its level before the pandemic, so the two measures do not always move together.⁴

Why the figures do not compare directly

The indicators do not all measure the same thing. In France and the European Union, they count years lived without long-standing activity limitation, based on the health module of the EU-SILC survey. In the United Kingdom, the ONS counts the years people spend in general health they rate as “very good” or “good”. The WHO publishes its own estimate, health-adjusted life expectancy. Insee also points out that self-reports depend on each person's perception.

What a national figure does not tell you

• It describes a hypothetical generation exposed to the conditions of one year, not the future of an individual.
• It relies on self-reports, which vary between countries and with the way the question is asked.
• It does not say which years will be spent in good health, or why.
• The values change from one edition to the next: those on this page are dated.

Using the figures sensibly

• Check the area, the year and the indicator before comparing two numbers: France, the EU and the UK do not measure the same thing.
• Look at the share of life as well as the years: a long life expectancy with a lower share is a different picture from a shorter one with a higher share.
• Read the date: the indicators are revised from one edition to the next, and this page records when each was read.
• Compare a trend within one indicator over time before comparing countries, because the definitions behind each series stay the same from one edition to the next.
• Treat national averages as descriptions of a population. They say nothing about how long any one person will live or stay active.

For research on what is associated with staying active and connected, see social connection and aging, walking and longevity and the review of Blue Zones. The whole group is in healthy aging research, and every topic is listed in the Chutex guides.

When to see a doctor

For any question about your own health or the prevention that applies to you, talk to your doctor. This page presents population statistics and does not replace medical advice.

Frequently asked questions