Health expectancy; since 1981

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Sex Age (at December 31) Periods Life expectancy (years) Life expectancy in perceived good health (years) Life exp. without physical limitations LE without moderate, severe limitations (years) Life exp. without chronic morbidity LE without chronic morbidity (years) LE without psychological complaints (years) Life expectancy without GALI-limitations Life expectancy without GALI-limitations (years)
Male 0 year 1981 72.71 59.9 . 54.5 . .
1991 74.05 59.4 66.9 50.7 . .
2001 75.80 61.8 68.7 48.7 70.0 .
2011 79.18 63.7 71.1 46.1 72.6 .
2021 79.68 65.4 73.4 47.2 71.2 59.8
2022 80.10 63.2 72.7 46.4 72.1 58.8
2023 80.31 64.1 72.2 45.7 71.8 59.4
65 years 1981 14.33 9.2 . 6.9 . .
1991 14.89 8.4 10.5 5.4 . .
2001 15.90 9.2 10.9 4.5 13.5 .
2011 18.30 10.9 13.9 3.8 16.9 .
2021 18.57 12.6 14.8 4.1 16.9 9.4
2022 18.98 11.6 14.8 3.7 17.6 8.8
2023 19.17 12.5 14.7 4.1 17.7 9.6
Female 0 year 1981 79.32 62.4 . 53.9 . .
1991 80.15 61.9 65.0 47.9 . .
2001 80.71 61.6 68.5 42.1 70.0 .
2011 82.85 63.3 70.0 40.9 73.4 .
2021 82.99 65.1 72.4 40.5 69.0 57.6
2022 83.09 62.3 70.6 41.2 70.6 56.7
2023 83.33 62.4 71.0 40.7 71.4 55.5
65 years 1981 18.86 10.8 . 7.4 . .
1991 19.39 10.7 9.1 5.6 . .
2001 19.72 10.4 10.6 4.9 15.3 .
2011 21.30 11.3 13.4 3.6 18.1 .
2021 21.16 13.4 14.6 3.8 18.2 9.7
2022 21.20 12.5 13.3 4.3 18.6 9.6
2023 21.34 12.5 13.7 3.6 18.8 8.9
Source: CBS.
Explanation of symbols

Table explanation


This table represents five variants of health expectancies:
-life expectancy in perceived good health.
-life expectancy without physical limitations.
-life expectancy without chronic morbidity.
-without psychological complaints (until 2023)
-life expectancy without GALI-limitations
In addition, figures of 'normal' life expectancy are included, so the figures of health expectancy can be related to them.
In the table, the data on health expectancy can be split into the following characteristics:
-sex (starting from the data of 2018, the category ‘total, men + women’ is added).
-age.

Using this table one can see the developments over time of health expectancies. For example it can be seen that morbidity free life expectancy of women shortened during the eighties and nineties.
In the same period the life expectancy free of moderate and severe limitations of men increased.

Data available from: 1981

Status of the figures:
The figures in this table are definitive.

Changes as of November 1, 2024:
The 2023 figures on life expectancy without psychological complaints were missing standard errors for ages 0, 1 and 5. These have now been added. It is further explained that no new figures will be published about life expectancy without psychological complaints.

When will new figures be published?
The figures for 2024 will be published in the third quarter of 2025. The figures on 'Life expectancy without psychological complaints' will no longer be supplemented from statistical year 2024 (see Sources and Methods).

Description topics

Life expectancy
The number of years someone of a certain age is expected to live,
according to a life table, assuming that the mortality chances will not change in the future.
Life expectancy in perceived good health
The number of years a person of a certain age can (still) expect to live in perceived good health.
The following survey question is used to calculate the life expectancy in perceived good health:
How is your health in general?
People answering 'good' or 'very good' are considered healthy.
The data of the years 1981 and 1982 have been repaired. More information about this repair can be found in the table explanation.
Life exp. without physical limitations
The number of years a person of a certain age can (still) expect to live without physical limitations.
To calculate this life expectancy, physical limitations in the domains of hearing, seeing and moving are being used. The following questions are used to calculate the life expectancy without physical limitations:
-Can you follow a conversation in a group of 3 or more persons (using hearing aid if needed)?
-Can you have a conversation with one other person (using hearing aid if needed)?
-Can you see newspaper print (using glasses or lenses if needed)?
-Can you recognize someone's face from a distance of 4 metres (using glasses or lenses if needed)?
-Can you carry an object of 5 kilo's (e.g. a filled shopping bag) over a distance of 10 metres?
-Can you, when you stand, lean down and pick something of the floor?
-Can you walk for 400 meters without rest (using a walking stick if needed)?
These questions have the following answer categories:
-yes, without difficulty
-yes, with some difficulty
-yes, with a lot of difficulty
-no, I can not do that
For the calculation of the life expectancy without severe physical limitations a respondent is considered to be physical limited when at least 1 question is answered with 'no, I can not do that'.
For the calculation of the life expectancy without moderate or severe physical limitations a respondent is considered to be physical limited when at least 1 question is answered with 'no, I can not do that' or 'yes, with a lot of difficulty'.
For the calculation of the life expectancy without light, moderate or severe physical limitations a respondent is considered to be physical limited when at least 1 question is answered with 'no, I can not do that', 'yes, with a lot of difficulty' or 'yes, with some difficulty.
The data of the years 1983 through 1988 have been repaired. More information about this repair can be found in the table explanation.
The questions about physical limitations are only asked to people aged 12 and older. In the calculation of the life expectancy without physical limitations is therefore assumed that these limitations do not occur to people younger than 12.
LE without moderate, severe limitations
Life exp. without chronic morbidity
The number of years a person of a certain age can (still) expect to live without chronic morbidity.
The calculation of the life expectancy without chronic morbidity uses a selection of diseases of which is known that they can lead to death or that they have a severe impact on the quality of life. The following (clusters of) diseases are used:
-Asthma, chronic bronchitis
-Heart condition
-Stroke
-Hypertension
-Disturbance of stomach-intestines
-Diabetes
-Disorder of the back
-Rheumatic or joint disorder
-Migraine
-Cancer
People are considered to be chronically diseased when they indicate to suffer from at least one of these diseases, within the last 12 months.
The questions on chronic diseases are being asked at persons of 0 years or older. However, there are some exceptions. The questions on heart diseases, stroke, hypertension and joint degeneration are only being asked at persons of 12 years and older. In the calculation of life expectancy without chronic morbidity it is therefore assumed that these diseases do not occur amongst persons younger than 12 years.
The data of the years 1981 through 2000 have been repaired. More information about this repair can be found in the table explanation.
LE without chronic morbidity
The number of years a person of a certain age can (still) expect to live without chronic morbidity.
The calculation of the life expectancy without chronic morbidity uses a selection of diseases of which is known that they can lead to death or that they have a severe impact on the quality of life. The following (clusters of) diseases are used:
-Asthma, chronic bronchitis
-Heart condition
-Stroke
-Hypertension
-Disturbance of stomach-intestines
-Diabetes
-Disorder of the back
-Rheumatic or joint disorder
-Migraine
-Cancer
People are considered to be chronically diseased when they indicate to suffer from at least one of these diseases, within the last 12 months.
The questions on chronic diseases are being asked at persons of 0 years or older. However, there are some exceptions. The questions on heart diseases, stroke, hypertension and joint degeneration are only being asked at persons of 12 years and older. In the calculation of life expectancy without chronic morbidity it is therefore assumed that these diseases do not occur amongst persons younger than 12 years.
The data of the years 1981 through 2000 have been repaired. More information about this repair can be found in the table explanation.
LE without psychological complaints
The number of years a person of a certain age can (still) expect to live without psychological complaints. Figures on this variant of healthy life expectancy will no longer be provided from statistical year 2024 onwards.
The calculation of psychological complaints is, until 2023, based on the scores on the Mental Health Inventory (MHI-5). Therefore the following questions of the health survey are used:
During the past 4 weeks, how much of the time.:
-Have you been a very nervous person?
-Did you feel depressed?
-Have you felt calm and peaceful?
-Have you felt downhearted and blue?
-Were you a happy person?
The possible answers to these questions are: 'all of the time', 'most of the time', 'a good bit of the time', 'some of the time', 'a little of the time' and 'non of the time'. Positively phrased questions are scored respectively 5,4,3,2,1 and 0. Negatively phrased questions are scored 0,1,2,3,4 and 5. For every respondent a sum score is being calculated
which is multiplied by 4. Therefore the minimum score of a person is 0 (very unhealthy) and the maximum score is 100 (perfectly healthy. Every respondent with a score of 60 or more is considered to have no psychological complaints.
The questions of the Mental Health Inventory are only asked to people aged 12 and older. In the calculation of the life expectancy without psychological complaints
the assumption is made that children younger than 12 years have the same prevalence of psychological complaints as people of 12 through 14 years.
Up to 2023, life expectancy without psychological complaints was referred to as life expectancy in good mental health.
Researchers from the Trimbos Institute recalibrated the MHI in 2024 and determined that the previously used cut-off point of 60 was no longer adequate for a number of reasons. It was also determined that the indicator ‘psychological distress’ would be better replaced by the indicator ‘feelings of anxiety or depression’, where an MHI sum score of 76 or lower determines whether or not you have those feelings. As of 10 September 2024, the indicator ‘feelings of anxiety or depression in the past 4 weeks’ will therefore replace the indicator ‘psychological distress in the past 4 weeks’. More information about the recalibration of the MHI can be found in a fact sheet from the Trimbos Institute (see table explanation). The variable ‘Psychological distress’ will therefore no longer be supplemented from 2024 onwards. As a result, the indicator on life expectancy psychological complaints will also no longer be supplemented from statistical year 2024 onwards. The CBS will not calculate a healthy life expectancy based on the variable “Feelings of anxiety or depression in the past 4 weeks”.








Life expectancy without GALI-limitations
GALI means Global Activity Limitations Indicator. The life expectancy without GALI-limitations is the variant of health expectancy that Eurostat defines as ‘Healthy Life Years’. That official European figure on Healthy Life Years is based on data from the European Survey on Income and Living Conditions (EU-SILC) and can therefore differ slightly from the figures presented in this table. The figures in this table are based on the Health Survey.
To calculate the life expectancy without GALI-limitations the answers on the following questions of the Health Survey 2014 are used:
-To what extent are you (is your child), due to problems with your (his or her) health, limited in activities people usually do?
-Does this limitation already last for at least half a year?
From 2014 onwards the following survey question is used:
-Since 6 months or longer, to what extent are you (is your child), due to problems with your (his or her) health, limited in activities people (children) usually do?
Answer categories:
-Severely limited
-Limited, but not severely
-Not limited at all.
For the calculation of the life expectancy without GALI-limitations a respondent is considered to be limited when the question is answered with 'severely limited' or ‘limited, but not severely’.
For the calculation of the life expectancy without severe GALI-limitations a respondent is considered to be limited when the question is answered with 'severely limited'.
The questions on GALI-limitations are only asked to persons of 2 years or older. In the calculation of the life expectancy without GALI-limitations, the assumption is made that these limitations do not occur amongst children aged 0 and 1 year.
Life expectancy without GALI-limitations