Swedes live longer, healthier lives

Swedish senior citizens are the healthiest in the European Union (EU), a survey showed.

A 65-year-old Swede stands a good chance of making it to his or her eightieth birthday without suffering chronic pain, Swedish newspaper Svenska Dagbladet cited data from Eurostat on Monday.

In 2013, Swedish women had an average life expectancy of 83.7 years, while the average life expectancy among men was 80.1 years. But Swedes are not only living longer lives than ever -- they are also getting healthier.

When it comes to the number of healthy lifeyears (HLY) among citizens, only non-EU members Norway and Iceland match Sweden.

For Swedes, the number of HLY is increasing at record speed.

The new Eurostat figures are not surprising, according to Ingemar Skoog, a researcher from the University of Gothenburg.

"I usually say that 70 is the new 50," Skoog told Svenska Dagbladet, explaining that today's 70-year-olds are as healthy as 50-year-olds were in the 1970s.

The EU has measured HLY among citizens since 2004 in order to formulate certain health policies. The data published by Eurostat is also part of the annual report Health at a Glance 2014, co-published by the EU Commission and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development.