Life Expectancy in Germany Reaches New High

Regional Differences Among the Federal States

At the lower end of the scale are other states: the lowest values for women were recorded in Saarland (82.0 years) and for men in Saxony-Anhalt (76.4 years). The gap between the sexes in favor of women is greatest in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, at more than six years.

For the individual federal states, the agency uses three-year periods, currently the period from 2023 to 2025. "Für die Bundesländer wird die Lebenserwartung laut Statistikamt für Dreijahreszeiträume angegeben." As a result, the nationwide annual figures differ methodologically from the state-level values, which combine several years.

Remaining life expectancy has also risen for older people. The remaining life expectancy for a 65-year-old woman thus averaged 21.2 years. "Bei Frauen sei etwa ein Monat, bei Männern seien etwa zwei Monate hinzugekommen." This corresponds to an average attainable age of 86.2 years for women and 83.2 years for men.

Slower Increase Than at the Beginning of the 20th Century

According to researchers, however, the dynamics of the increase have changed. "Nach früheren Angaben des Max-Planck-Instituts für demografische Forschung stieg die Lebenserwartung nicht mehr so schnell an, wie in der ersten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts," the Federal Office explained. One reason, it said, is that infant mortality had fallen rapidly at that time – and there is now little room left for improvement there.

The indicator itself is statistically defined: "Life expectancy at birth" summarizes mortality across all ages in a single figure. This figure is independent of the age structure and the size of the population. Despite its name, it is not a forecast for babies born today.

Debate on Pensions and Life Expectancy

The political debate over linking the pension age to life expectancy is also nothing new: "Die Rentenkommission hatte vorgeschlagen, die Rente an die Lebenserwartung zu koppeln: Ein Jahr mehr Lebenserwartung sollte acht Monate längeres Arbeiten und vier Monate längeren Rentenbezug ergeben." The new data themselves, however, do not yield any immediate decision on the matter.

Overall, the figures document a trend that was already visible before Corona but was interrupted by the pandemic. The current record levels mark a recovery, which the Federal Statistical Office explicitly classifies as such.