The pandemic caused the largest reduction in life expectancy in Switzerland since 1944

Geneva, 25 October (EFE). – The life expectancy of men in Switzerland in 2020 fell to 81 years, about 11 months less than the previous year, which is the largest drop in this indicator in the country since 1944, according to figures presented today by the Federal Statistical Office.

In women, life expectancy last year was 85.1 years, six months lower than in 2019, a decline not seen in the central European country since 1962.

Some Swiss cantons, such as Ticino (south), Geneva (west) or Obwalden (central) last year experienced a decrease in men’s life expectancy of about two and a half years, while life expectancy for women fell even more, 1.8 years, in Jura. (north).

In 2020, a record number of deaths was recorded in Switzerland, 76,000 (compared to 67,000 in 2019), an increase of 11% compared to the previous two years, which was only 0.3%.

Last year, the number of deaths related to COVID-19 was about 7,600 (0.9 per thousand people), which Swiss statistics compare to 22,000 deaths from the 1918 flu (5.6 deaths per thousand people).

In this pandemic, the most serious that the world has experienced before the current pandemic, life expectancy in Switzerland has fallen by 10 years for men and eight years for women, figures also significantly higher than those caused by COVID-19, according to federal statistics. EFE

ABC / ah