Populations characterised by better life expectancy and higher ageing rates for the female component in all Mediterranean countries, but also by levels of infant mortality higher for females than for males.
Population ages 65 and above, female (% of female population)
Population ages 65 and above, male (% of male population)
Life expectancy at birth, female (years)
Life expectancy at birth, male (years)
Mortality rate, infant, female (per 1,000 live births)
Mortality rate, infant, male (per 1,000 live births)
area_code
ordgeo
Countries
2023
2023
2023
2022
2022
2021
2021
Portugal
52.8
25.7
20.7
84.5
78.8
2.4
2.9
A
1
Spain
51.0
22.9
18.5
85.9
80.4
2.3
2.8
A
2
France
51.7
24.1
19.8
85.2
79.4
3.0
3.6
A
3
Italy
51.1
26.3
21.6
84.8
80.6
2.3
2.8
A
4
Slovenia
49.7
24.2
18.6
84.1
78.6
1.7
2.1
A
5
Croatia
51.3
26.0
19.3
80.7
74.6
3.6
4.3
A
6
Greece
51.1
24.7
21.6
83.3
78.1
3.1
3.6
A
7
Malta
47.9
22.0
17.4
84.8
80.7
4.7
5.4
A
8
Cyprus
49.9
16.4
14.0
83.7
80.1
2.5
2.9
A
9
Serbia
52.1
24.1
16.5
78.1
73.0
4.1
5.1
B
10
Kosovo
50.2
11.8
9.3
81.7
77.2
8.1
10.0
B
11
Bosnia and Herzegovina
50.8
20.9
16.4
77.5
73.1
4.9
5.8
B
12
Montenegro
51.3
19.4
14.3
78.8
73.7
2.3
2.5
B
13
North Macedonia
50.2
17.0
13.2
76.7
72.2
4.2
5.0
B
14
Albania
50.2
17.8
16.4
79.5
74.5
7.5
9.2
B
15
Turkiye
49.9
10.4
7.5
81.5
75.4
8.0
9.2
C
16
Syrian Arab Republic
49.9
5.4
4.1
76.1
68.7
16.2
19.9
C
17
Lebanon
51.5
11.3
9.2
76.6
72.2
13.2
15.0
C
18
Jordan
48.2
4.3
3.7
76.7
72.1
11.3
13.8
C
19
Israel
50.1
13.4
10.9
84.8
80.7
2.5
3.0
C
20
West Bank and Gaza
50.1
4.0
3.2
75.9
71.0
11.7
13.8
C
21
Egypt, Arab Rep.
49.4
5.7
4.1
72.6
67.9
14.8
17.2
D
22
Libya
49.4
5.6
4.4
74.8
69.7
8.2
10.1
D
23
Tunisia
50.7
10.1
8.6
77.4
71.4
9.6
11.5
D
24
Algeria
49.1
7.0
6.2
78.5
75.9
17.5
20.7
D
25
Morocco
49.7
8.5
7.5
77.2
72.9
13.7
16.9
D
26
Some highlighted topics
Demographic structure
The gender composition of the population in the Mediterranean region, calculated through the feminisation rate, sees a prevalence of the female component (over 50%) in all the countries of the Western Balkans and in the majority of those of the European Union, contrary to what is evident in the non-European macro-regions. This indicator is clearly affected by the dynamics of complex phenomena such as gender differences in migratory movements and population longevity. The highest value across the Mediterranean arc concerns Portugal (52.8%), the lowest Malta (47.9%).
When comparing the age structure of the female and male population, the age group where gender differences are generally accentuated is that of 65 years and over. In all countries the share of the elderly in the respective population is higher for the female component than for the male component. The territorial differences concern the size of these deviations. The highest values - more than 5 percentage points difference between the shares of the elderly in the female and male population - are in Serbia, Croatia, Slovenia and Montenegro. The value is quite similar in Italy (4.6 points of difference), which is the Mediterranean country with the highest incidence of the elderly in the population for both women and men (26.3% and 21.6% respectively). The two indicators show smaller differences in the Middle East and North Africa, in the presence of an overall very limited incidence of the elderly population on the total population.
Life expectancy
Life expectancy at birth, calculated from mortality levels by age group in a given year, represents the average number of years an infant is expected to live if mortality patterns at the time of its birth remain constant in the future. Therefore, it is considered as a measure of the longevity of a population, which naturally differs between males and females in relation to different mortality patterns.
The gender analysis indicates the presence of gaps between the countries belonging to the four macro-regions that largely follow those highlighted for the total population (see page ‘Population and Society/Population’). Moreover, all countries in the Mediterranean region show a more favourable level of life expectancy for the female component (Figure 1).
In 2022, the nine countries with the most favourable values in female life expectancy are the same as those found for the indicator referring to the population as a whole: eight EU countries (with the exception of Croatia), plus Israel. As in the case of the total population, the highest value for women is that of Spain (85.9 years), in contrast to the male component, where the highest values are those of Malta, Israel and Italy (between 80.7 and 80.6 years). The gender differences in favour of women are smaller for these three countries and Cyprus, larger especially for France and Portugal.
Then there is a second group of countries, in which women's life expectancy exceeds 80 years, including Kosovo, Turkey and Croatia, and then another one with values between 77 and 80 years, where the countries of the Western Balkans show levels similar to those of some in the Middle East and North Africa; in these clusters, the gender differentials are widest for Turkey, Croatia and Tunisia, very small for Algeria. Finally, there are countries that show a more critical picture, such as a minimum value of female life expectancy in Egypt (72.6 years) and the maximum female/male gap for Syria, a country which went through the war events of the last decade.
Figure 1 - Female life expectancy at birth and differential to male life expectancy at birth. Year 2022 (life years)
...
Infant mortality
A further implication emerges from the gender analysis of child mortality rates, for a phenomenon that is strongly correlated with the different levels of socio-economic development in the Mediterranean area (see page ‘Population and Society/Population’ LINK). In fact, the gender comparison is less unfavourable for the female component in all the 26 countries considered (Figure 2). The differences are, of course, more pronounced in the countries with the greatest health problems in this indicator, and especially in Syria, Algeria and Morocco. At the other extreme, there are minimal differences for countries with the lowest levels of child mortality for both sexes: the EU countries, Serbia, Montenegro and Israel.
Figure 2 - Infant mortality rates by gender. Year 2021 (per 1,000 live births)
...
This chart is optimized for wider resolutions. The experience on smartphones might not be complete.
Metadata
Indicators
Definition
The percentage of the population that is female (midyear estimates).
Sources
a) World Bank Development Indicators, from: United Nations Population Division, National Statistical Offices, Eurostat; b) Istat for Italy
Methodology
Data are collected through different kinds of sources: national population censuses; estimates for the years before and after the census based on demographic models; administrative data.
Notes
Errors and undercounting occur even in high-income countries. In developing countries errors may be substantial because of limits in the transport, communications, and other resources required to conduct and analyze a full census. The quality and reliability of official demographic data are also affected by public trust in the government, government commitment to full and accurate enumeration, confidentiality and protection against misuse of census data, and census agencies' independence from political influence. Moreover, comparability of population indicators is limited by differences in the concepts, definitions, collection procedures, and estimation methods used by national statistical agencies and other organizations that collect the data. The currentness of a census and the availability of complementary data from surveys or registration systems are objective ways to judge demographic data quality.
Presence in policy-oriented statistical systems
ENP-South Eurostat Data Browser: Area 'Population and Social conditions'
Female population 65 years of age or older as a percentage of the total female population at the 1st January of each year.
Sources
a) World Bank Development Indicators, from United Nations Population Division; b) Istat for Italy
Methodology
Age structure in the World Bank's population estimates is based on the age structure in United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects. A description of the empirical data used and the methods applied in revising past estimates of population and components of demographic change is available for each country in: https://population.un.org/wpp/DataSources/.
Male population ages 65 and above as a percentage of the total population at the 1st January of each year.
Sources
a) World Bank Development Indicators, from United Nations Population Division; b) Istat for Italy
Methodology
Age structure in the World Bank's population estimates is based on the age structure in United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects. A description of the empirical data used and the methods applied in revising past estimates of population and components of demographic change is available for each country in: https://population.un.org/wpp/DataSources/.
Number of years a female newborn infant would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the same throughout its life.
Sources
a) World Bank Development Indicators, from: United Nations Population Division, National Statistical Offices, Eurostat; b) Istat for Italy
Methodology
Life expectancy at birth used here is the average number of years a newborn is expected to live if mortality patterns at the time of its birth remain constant in the future. It reflects the overall mortality level of a population, and summarizes the mortality pattern that prevails across all age groups in a given year. It is calculated in a period life table which provides a snapshot of a population's mortality pattern at a given time. It therefore does not reflect the mortality pattern that a person actually experiences during his/her life, which can be calculated in a cohort life table.
Notes
Annual data series from United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects are interpolated data from 5-year period data. Therefore they may not reflect real events as much as observed data. High mortality in young age groups significantly lowers the life expectancy at birth. But if a person survives his/her childhood of high mortality, he/she may live much longer. For example, in a population with a life expectancy at birth of 50, there may be few people dying at age 50. The life expectancy at birth may be low due to the high childhood mortality so that once a person survives his/her childhood, he/she may live much longer than 50 years.
Presence in policy-oriented statistical systems
ENP-South Eurostat Data Browser: Area 'Population and Social conditions'
Number of years a male newborn infant would live if prevailing patterns of mortality at the time of its birth were to stay the same throughout its life.
Sources
a) World Bank Development Indicators, from: United Nations Population Division, National Statistical Offices, Eurostat; b) Istat for Italy
Methodology
Life expectancy at birth used here is the average number of years a newborn is expected to live if mortality patterns at the time of its birth remain constant in the future. It reflects the overall mortality level of a population, and summarizes the mortality pattern that prevails across all age groups in a given year. It is calculated in a period life table which provides a snapshot of a population's mortality pattern at a given time. It therefore does not reflect the mortality pattern that a person actually experiences during his/her life, which can be calculated in a cohort life table.
Notes
Annual data series from United Nations Population Division's World Population Prospects are interpolated data from 5-year period data. Therefore they may not reflect real events as much as observed data. High mortality in young age groups significantly lowers the life expectancy at birth. But if a person survives his/her childhood of high mortality, he/she may live much longer. For example, in a population with a life expectancy at birth of 50, there may be few people dying at age 50. The life expectancy at birth may be low due to the high childhood mortality so that once a person survives his/her childhood, he/she may live much longer than 50 years.
Presence in policy-oriented statistical systems
ENP-South Eurostat Data Browser: Area 'Population and Social conditions'
Number of female infants dying before reaching one year of age, per 1,000 female live births in a given year.
Sources
a) United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation; b) Istat for Italy
Methodology
Depending on the data source, mortality rates can be calculated several ways: a) Vital Registration – The calculation of Infant mortality rates is derived from a standard period abridged life table using the age-specific deaths and mid-year population counts from civil registration data. b) Survey and Census Data (Birth Histories and Sibling Survival Histories) - Survey and census data on under-five child mortality typically come in one of two or forms: the full birth history (FBH), whereby women are asked for the date of birth of each of their children, whether the child is still alive, and if not, the age at death; and the summary birth history (SBH), whereby women are asked only about the number of children they have ever given birth to and the number that have died (or, equivalently, the number still alive). Either birth history results in retrospective child mortality rates referring to some period prior to the survey date. Rates can be derived using a direct estimation method from the FBH. SBH data, collected by censuses and many household surveys, can be used to derive retrospective infant, child and under-five mortality rate estimates by using an indirect estimation method, i.e. a proxy is used for the exposure time of the mother’s children to the risk of death. The Brass method and model life tables are used to obtain an indirect estimate of infant and under-five mortality rates. Istat data for Italy fall into case a) (Vital statistics on causes of death) and refer to mortality by territory of residence.
Number of male infants dying before reaching one year of age, per 1,000 male live births in a given year.
Sources
a) United Nations Inter-agency Group for Child Mortality Estimation; b) Istat for Italy
Methodology
Depending on the data source, mortality rates can be calculated several ways: a) Vital Registration – The calculation of Infant mortality rates is derived from a standard period abridged life table using the age-specific deaths and mid-year population counts from civil registration data. b) Survey and Census Data (Birth Histories and Sibling Survival Histories) - Survey and census data on under-five child mortality typically come in one of two or forms: the full birth history (FBH), whereby women are asked for the date of birth of each of their children, whether the child is still alive, and if not, the age at death; and the summary birth history (SBH), whereby women are asked only about the number of children they have ever given birth to and the number that have died (or, equivalently, the number still alive). Either birth history results in retrospective child mortality rates referring to some period prior to the survey date. Rates can be derived using a direct estimation method from the FBH. SBH data, collected by censuses and many household surveys, can be used to derive retrospective infant, child and under-five mortality rate estimates by using an indirect estimation method, i.e. a proxy is used for the exposure time of the mother’s children to the risk of death. The Brass method and model life tables are used to obtain an indirect estimate of infant and under-five mortality rates. Istat data for Italy fall into case a) (Vital statistics on causes of death) and refer to mortality by territory of residence.
