Life expectancy in experienced good health

To calculate the life expectancy in experienced good health the number of “healthy” years is determined on the basis of the percentage of people who reply “good” or “very good” to the question of perceived health. These people are considered to be healthy. 

The question on experienced health is included in the basic questionnaire of Statistics Netherlands Permanent Quality of Life Survey (POLS). This questionnaire is put to a representative sample of around 20 thousand (in 2005: 9 thousand) persons (0 years and older). Residents of institutions and homes are excluded form the survey. The presented percentages are subject to a margin of error as they are based on a sample.