In the European Union (EU), life expectancy has been steadily increasing, reaching an average of 81.4 years in 2023. This is an improvement of 0.8 years from 2022 and exceeds 2019, prior to the pandemic. Indeed, in the Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) region, life expectancy at birth is almost identical to the EU’s average. The CEE8 countries achieved a remarkable average of 78.3 years in 2023. In the capital markets, the EUR/USD currency pair gets rolling. It has jumped back toward 1.0850 during Monday’s European trading, breaking an immediate three-day losing streak.
Life Expectancy Trends in Europe
The EU’s life expectancy statistics are a heartening sign of post-pandemic recovery. The CEE region is still seeing rising life expectancy, recovering from a dramatic fall during the pandemic years. The highest life-expectancy among the CEE countries can be found in Czechia, with 79.9 years. Countries like Serbia, Romania and Hungary report some of the lowest life expectancy figures in the region, just over 76 years.
Even though life expectancy figures are very encouraging, looking at the Healthy Life Years (HLY) at Birth indicator shows inequalities. The CEE region sees a forecasted healthy life expectancy at almost 60 years, which is well below the EU average. The role of healthy life years is only growing in importance for labor market outcomes, highlighting the need to not only live longer, but live healthier, too.
Financial Markets Update
In the economic world, the EUR/USD pair has shown its resilience. It has clawed back territory right in front of next week’s Eurozone and US Purchasing Managers’ Index (PMI) prints. This rebound follows a week characterized by generally low volatility in the foreign exchange (FX) market. Stability in the broader region has provided a supportive backdrop for CEE bond markets. Unfortunately, these markets have prospered largely due to a drop in global market yields.
The recent swing upward for the EUR/USD pair reflects increasing investor optimism as traders look ahead to key economic metrics over the short term. This development illustrates the growing connectivity between financial markets and macroeconomic fundamentals.
Implications and Future Outlook
The rising life expectancy figures serve as a testament to the resilience and recovery of health standards across Europe post-pandemic. This inequality in healthy life years underscores the very real battles still ahead that we need to fight. We must demand that quality of life not lag behind advances in longevity.
Regarding financial markets, the EUR/USD strengthening speaks to positive sentiment and optimism as the global economy heads into releases of major economic indicators and data. In fact, volatility remains remarkably low, producing a soothing balm on the bond markets. Investors are closely watching for any changes in direction based on forthcoming economic reports.