Denmark’s life expectancy has increased for the third consecutive year, but Danes still live shorter lives than people in Sweden, Norway and most comparable Western countries. New calculations published by the Danish pension fund ATP show that the country has not yet fully recovered the longevity lost during the Covid-19 pandemic.
ATP’s figures measure the expected remaining lifespan of people aged 67. Between 2024 and 2025, it increased by 1.2 months for women and 0.4 months for men.
A 67-year-old woman in Denmark can now expect to live to the age of 86.9, while a man of the same age is expected to reach 84.4.
Denmark’s life expectancy is recovering slowly
The latest increase follows two years of declining longevity in 2021 and 2022, when the pandemic caused excess mortality, particularly among older residents.
“Covid created a hole in Danish life expectancy. We are repairing that hole, but we have not completely filled it yet,” said Camilla Fredsgaard Larsen, chief actuary (ansvarshavende aktuar) at ATP.
The recovery has also been slower than the improvements recorded before the pandemic. During the past decade, the expected remaining lifespan of 67-year-olds increased by an average of about one month per year. This was approximately half the pace observed during the previous ten-year period.
Over a longer period, longevity has nevertheless improved considerably. Since 1976, the expected age reached by a 67-year-old woman has increased by 4.4 years, from 82.5 to 86.9. For men, it has risen by 5.1 years, from 79.3 to 84.4.
Official figures from Statistics Denmark also show that life expectancy at birth reached 80.3 years for boys and 83.9 years for girls in 2024-2025. These figures use a different measure from ATP’s calculations for people who have already reached retirement age.
Danes live around one year less than Swedes and Norwegians
Despite the recent improvement, Denmark has not reduced its long-standing gap with its Scandinavian neighbours.
According to ATP, the average expected lifespan in Sweden and Norway remains around one year higher for both women and men. The difference has persisted for more than 30 years.
The gap largely emerged between 1980 and 1995. During those 15 years, Danish life expectancy increased by an average of only 0.1 months per year, while Sweden and Norway continued to record substantial improvements.
ATP describes this accumulated difference as a “life expectancy debt” that Denmark is still paying.
“It is a paradox. Denmark is a world leader in prosperity, but certainly not in long lives,” Fredsgaard Larsen said. “Life expectancy in Denmark was almost stationary for 15 years, while Norway and Sweden continued to move forward. That difference is still very clear.”
Recent international comparisons confirm the broader divide. OECD data place life expectancy in Denmark at 81.8 years, compared with 83.4 years in Sweden and 83.1 years in Norway. Denmark remains above the OECD average, but near the lower end among affluent Western European countries.
Smoking and alcohol contributed to Denmark’s longevity gap
Researchers and Danish health experts have previously linked the stagnation of the 1980s and 1990s partly to smoking and alcohol consumption.
The effects of past behaviour can continue to influence mortality statistics for decades. Diseases connected to tobacco use, including cancer and cardiovascular and respiratory conditions, often appear many years after exposure.
Smoking rates in Denmark have since fallen substantially. OECD figures indicate that around 11 per cent of adults smoke daily, below the organisation’s average. Alcohol consumption, however, remains slightly above the OECD average, at approximately 9.3 litres of pure alcohol per person each year.
Denmark also performs less favourably when the comparison focuses on years lived in good health rather than total lifespan. Eurostat has previously placed the country near the bottom of the EU for healthy life years, especially among women.
These indicators suggest that the Danish challenge concerns not only how long people live, but also how many of those years are spent without serious limitations or chronic illness.
Longer lives will affect Denmark’s pension system
ATP calculates longevity because it provides lifelong supplementary pensions and must estimate how long benefits will be paid. Its model combines Danish mortality statistics with information from 17 comparable countries.
The latest projection suggests that future 67-year-olds could live about 1.9 years longer than people of the same age today. Under this scenario, women would reach an average age of 88.8, with a similar increase expected for men.
Longer lives will influence pension expenditure, healthcare demand and the number of years people spend in retirement. Denmark has already linked its statutory retirement age to changes in life expectancy, making demographic projections an important part of long-term public policy.
The latest figures therefore point in two directions. Danes are once again living longer, but the improvement remains too slow to close the persistent gap with Sweden, Norway and several other affluent European countries.
