In 2024, Italy maintained its status as the European Union's leader in terms of life expectancy at birth. According to preliminary Eurostat data, the average life expectancy in the EU has reached 81.7 years, up 0.3 years from 2023. This shows further consolidation following the severe drop experienced during the epidemic years. In this regard, Italy ranks first, along with Sweden, with a life expectancy of 84.1 years. Spain follows closely after with 84.0 years. These values are more than two years higher than the EU average, indicating strong lifespan indices in Southern and Northern European nations with well-structured healthcare systems and favorable socioeconomic conditions. On the other end of the spectrum are numerous Eastern European countries. Bulgaria has the lowest life expectancy in the Union, with 75.9 years, followed by Romania (76.6 years) and Latvia (76.7 years). Overall, fifteen Member States have a higher life expectancy than the European average, while the lowest performance is centered primarily in the Eastern region, indicating that mortality rates and health conditions continue to differ significantly.