Over the course of the coronavirus pandemic, life expectancy decreased across Germany. However, recent analysis has revealed that life expectancy in eastern federal states fell significantly more than in other parts of the country.
The coronavirus pandemic had a pretty drastic impact on life expectancy in Germany. According to calculations, life expectancy fell to 78,49 years for boys and 83,36 years for girls over the course of 2020, a decrease of 0,2 and 0,1 years respectively. During the second year of the pandemic, life expectancy fell another 0,4 years for boys and by 0,3 years for girls. Before the pandemic, life expectancy in Germany had increased by about 0,1 years every year.
However, the new data also suggests that the eastern federal states were more affected by the pandemic than other areas in Germany. For example, in Saxony-Anhalt, Saxony and Thuringia, average life expectancy fell by around 1,5 years for boys and by 1 year for girls. "In the analysis between 2019 and 2021, the southern regions of eastern Germany have recorded the strongest declines," said Markus Sauerberg from the Federal Institute for Population Research in Wiesbaden, according to the dpa.
On the other side of the country, life expectancy in Schleswig-Holstein actually increased. The data revealed that between 2019 and 2021, life expectancy increased by 0,2 years for boys. For girls, there was a relatively small decrease of 0,2 years.
The regional differences in life expectancy can largely be explained by a number of factors, namely: the number of infections per state, the preventive measures adopted by each state and the behaviour and reaction of the people in the state. Another factor is the proximity to neighbouring countries severely affected by the pandemic, such as Poland or Czechia.