Life expectancy drops in Spain

PEOPLE in Spain aren’t living as long as they used to.

According to the latest statistics from the National Statistics Institute (INE), life expectancy in Spain fell between July 2010 and June 2011.

Men now have a life expectancy of 78.87 years with women living to the ripe old age of 84.82 which is an average of 81.87 across the sexes.

But this is lower than the average age of 81.95 from 2010 and marks the first decrease in nearly half a century.

“Although this is only a drop in the hundredths, we must pay attention to fall as it breaks the trend of almost 50 years of increased life expectancy,” explained Albert Esteve from the Centre of Demographic Studies in Barcelona.

Previously, the Spanish had gained an extra year of life every four years, giving them one of the highest life expectancies in the world.