While in 2019, the life expectancy of the Swiss was already among the highest in the world, it would have reached 85.8 years for women and 82.2 years for men in 2023, Unisanté estimates on Tuesday. The University Center for General Medicine and Public Health indicates that this is a record level in our country. It exceeds the life expectancy of 2019 by more than three months; this was then 85.6 years for women and 81.9 years for men.
“The historical upward trend, lost in 2020 following the Covid-19 epidemic, seems to have been found again,” comments Unisanté, which is based on data from the Federal Statistical Office (FSO) relating to deaths. The absence of significant flu or Covid-19 episodes during the first six months contributed to the low mortality rate recorded last year. “A wave of mortality apparently due to influenza was also observed at the end of the year, but it did not reverse the trend.”
In 2019, there were approximately 8,100 deaths among women and 7,700 among men per million inhabitants. In 2023, approximately 7,900 women and 7,400 men will have lost their lives, representing a decrease of approximately 250 deaths for the entire Swiss population. “It remains to be seen whether this favourable trend will continue, or whether the life expectancy curve will flatten out or even slow down, as is the case in other countries,” concludes the University Centre for General Medicine and Public Health.
Raising children, and more specifically two, is key to longevity, according to a study conducted by the University of Michigan and published last December. It is likely that having two children creates a balance between a good level of social contact and not too much economic or physical burden.
