European health

In 1989 life expectancy at birth in European countries was about 75 years of age. In CEE it ranged from 69.3 to 78.2 years, with a clear tendency for the lowest values to occur.

Life expectancy at birth by country 

Infant mortality (deaths of children under the age of one) is another important health indicator. It seems to be declining in all European countries. However, in some parts of CEE the infant mortality rate is high (especially in Romania, Albania and Serbia and Montenegro) due mainly to poor sanitary conditions.

In 1992, a survey conducted in various Czech regions where there were strong concentrations of suspended particulates in the air detected a high rate of infant mortality due to respiratory diseases.

According to general mortality statistics, the most common causes of death in Europe are:

• diseases of the circulatory system (42 percent of all deaths in Western Europe, 55 percent in CEE and 58 percent in the former USSR);

• cancer (25 percent in Western Europe, 17 percent in CEE and 16 percent in the former USSR);

• injuries and poisonings (6-9 percent); followed by

• respiratory and digestive diseases, and other causes.