Where in Germany do people live the longest?

In 2023, the average life expectancy in Germany was 83.3 years for women and 78.6 years for men, according to recent figures from Germany's statistical office (Destatis).

This is up compared to previous years (2020 to 2022), when life expectancy around the world fell during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Looking a little closer, there are significant differences in life expectancies between different German states.

Which German states have the highest life expectancies?

Germany’s southern states have the highest life expectancies: Baden-Württemberg takes the top spot with an average life expectancy of 81.5 years, followed by Bavaria with 81.0 years and Hesse with 80.8 years.

Generally Germany’s southern and western states have higher life expectancies than the northern and eastern ones.

The federal states with the shortest life expectancies are Bremen with an average of 79.5 years, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania at 79.8 years and Saxony-Anhalt at 79.9 years.

Interestingly lifespans in Bremen on average are notably shorter than in the surrounding state of Lower Saxony, which actually has the fifth highest life expectancy in Germany at 80.6 years.

The opposite is true in the city-state of Berlin, which has a higher life expectancy than its surrounding state of Brandenburg (80.2 years and 80 years respectively).

Germany’s most populous cities, Berlin and Hamburg (80.3), have median life expectancies among the German states.

Which factors affect longevity across Germany?

Arguably more important than knowing which German states have longer life expectancies than others, is understanding why that is.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in most German states, and tends to be related to weight, along with diet and blood pressure. 

Spacegarden, a German company that focuses on longevity and sells dietary supplements, looked at body mass index (BMI) data across the federal states to see how it related to life expectancies.

The correlation here is pretty clear: states that have a lower average BMI (meaning a lower proportion of overweight people) tended to have higher life expectancies. 

Baden-Württemberg, which has the highest life expectancy, also has the lowest proportion of people with BMIs considered overweight, at 53.4 percent. Bremen, which has the lowest life expectancy, has the highest proportion of people with BMIs above the “normal” range, at 57 percent.

Another factor to consider is wealth. Generally people with mid-to-high incomes might be expected to live longer than those living with less, and this does seem to hold true in many cases in Germany.

Excluding city-states, the federal states with highest Gross Domestic Product (GDP) – Hesse, Baden-Württemberg and Bavaria – are also the states with the best life expectancies.

This also seems to explain the difference in life expectancies between eastern and western states, as Germany’s eastern states have the lowest GDPs.

READ ALSO: How does Germany's 'phantom border' still divide the country?

The states with the lowest GDP are also those with the lowest life expectancy – Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Saxony-Anhalt. 

However there are a couple of notable exceptions to this trend. Namely the city states of Bremen and Hamburg.

Despite having Germany’s lowest life expectancy, Bremen’s GDP actually matches that of Baden-Württemberg. Hamburg has the country’s highest GDP by far, but has the median life expectancy. 

Other factors that may affect life expectancy in a region include the number of doctors or hospitals per capita, or the share of the population that is over 65 years old.

Generally the best things an individual can do to promote longevity include eating a balanced diet that is largely plant-based with minimal consumption of sugars and processed foods, minimising tobacco and alcohol consumption, doing regular exercise and maintaining friend and family groups.

The traditional German diet, which includes a lot of meats and fats, has contributed to the country's high rates of cardiovascular disease, but this tend seems to be changing among Germany's younger generation which is opting increasingly for a more plant-based diet.

READ ALSO: 'People are eating less meat' - How Germany is embracing vegan food

Life expectancy around the world

Life expectancy is comparatively high across Germany compared to the rest of the world.

Compared to its neighbours to the south and west, however, it comes in a little short.

According to UN data, Germany’s average life expectancy for all genders is 82.34 years, as opposed to 83.49 in France or 84.52 in Switzerland. Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands also beat Germany by a little in this statistic.

But Germany is just slightly ahead of Denmark (82.18), and is well ahead of Poland (78.76) and the Czech Republic (79.96).

Switzerland and Italy have the highest life expectancies in Europe and both rank among the top 10 in the world.

The countries with the lowest life expectancies tend to be in Africa, and often struggle with disease and hunger.