Healthy Life Expectancy in Spain
Healthy Life Expectancy (HLE) has become a key indicator for understanding the true scope of longevity in our societies. Unlike life expectancy, which only measures the average duration of life, HLE adds a decisive qualitative element: how many of those years are lived in good health. In a country like Spain, where life expectancy is among the highest in the world, the central question is no longer just how long we live, but how we live.
This shift in perspective is essential in the context of population aging. Medical and social advances have steadily extended survival, but improvements in morbidity—reducing disease and disability—have not kept pace. That’s why HLE analysis is now at the heart of public and scientific debate: are we gaining years of healthy life, or merely extending life with illness and dependency?
An Indicator for Long-Lived Societies
HLE reveals the inequalities hidden behind national averages. Not all social groups, regions, or genders experience those extra years in the same way. While some communities enjoy long periods of healthy life, others face higher levels of chronic illness or disability from an early age. These differences reflect the influence of social, economic, and environmental factors—from education level and housing quality to pollution exposure and access to healthcare.
The gender paradox is a striking example. Women live longer than men, but often do so with a greater burden of non-lethal diseases, meaning they spend more time in limited health conditions. Added to this are territorial contrasts, visible between autonomous communities and even within them, highlighting the need for policies tailored to regional diversity.
Ultimately, HLE offers a more complete and realistic view of aging. It shows us not only the quantity of life, but also its quality, helping anticipate needs and guide public policy toward a central goal: ensuring that the years gained in life are also years gained in health.
A Key Study Within the IBERLONGEVA Project
Recognizing the strategic importance of this indicator, the University of Salamanca, through the International Center on Aging (CENIE), is promoting the study “Healthy Life Expectancy in Spain” as part of the IBERLONGEVA project, developed by the Centre d’Estudis Demogràfics (CED). This research is supported by the European Union through the Interreg Spain-Portugal Program, POCTEP 2021–2027.
The IBERLONGEVA project promotes a positive and innovative view of longevity, understood not as a burden but as an opportunity for social and economic transformation. In this context, HLE analysis takes on special significance, as it helps determine to what extent increased life expectancy also translates into fuller, more autonomous lives.
The study aims to monitor the evolution of HLE in Spain and its autonomous communities over recent decades, explore differences between men and women, analyze socioeconomic gradients, and understand which factors and diseases explain the gap between life expectancy and healthy life expectancy. This will generate rigorous and useful knowledge for designing evidence-based public policies aimed at reducing inequalities and promoting healthier, more equitable aging.
Beyond diagnosis, the research will help offer concrete strategies for facing the future. Narrowing the gap between years lived and years lived in health is not just an ethical aspiration—it’s a social and economic necessity. It means ensuring the sustainability of health and pension systems, as well as promoting personal autonomy and quality of life.
Collaboration with Portugal’s Economic and Social Council
The challenge of aging and health does not stop at borders. In parallel with work in Spain, Portugal’s Economic and Social Council (CES) has launched a study on life expectancy and healthy life years in its territory. This initiative is part of the cooperation established between CES and CENIE, which seeks to address longevity from an Iberian and cross-border perspective.
Joint work between Spain and Portugal will enrich comparative analysis, identify common trends, and highlight relevant differences that can guide political action in both countries. It will also open the door to designing shared strategies to ensure healthy, sustainable, and equitable aging across the Iberian region.
The cooperation between CENIE and CES marks a decisive step toward building a European reference framework on longevity and health. This joint effort shows that studying HLE is not just a statistical matter, but a strategic tool for shaping the future of our long-lived societies.
