The mean age at death for men stood at 74 years in 2017 and for women at 81.4 years. However, longevity has been rising faster for men than for women: the former lived 10 years longer than in 1987 and the latter 8.5 years longer.
According to the Statistics Office, people lived longest in the south-western coastal regions and died youngest in rural north-eastern Slovenia.
Boys born last year can expect to reach 78 years of age, while the life expectancy at birth for girls stands at 83.7 years.
SURS also reports on “premature mortality”, or dying before the age of 65. In 2017 a total of 3,539 Slovenes died before this age, or 17.3% of all deaths, with men accounting for more of these than women. Moreover, this number has been falling dramatically over the last three decades. In 1987, 45.5% of men died prematurely, while in 2017 this figure was just 23.7%. The figure for premature mortality among women 30 years ago was 21.9%; in 2017 it was 11.0%.
