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LIFE IN SPAIN

Why do people in Madrid live longer than anywhere else in the EU?

New EU data has revealed that the residents of Madrid live longer than people in any other region of the EU. So what's Madrileños' secret?

Published: 8 November 2023 10:59 CET
Updated: 12 November 2023 09:36 CET
Why do people in Madrid live longer than anywhere else in the EU?
Why is it people in Madrid live longer on average than anywhere else in the EU? (Photo by GERARD JULIEN / AFP)

According to EU Council data published on November 6th, the highest life expectancy for women in the EU in 2021 was in the Community of Madrid (88.2 years).

When it came to the male rankings, the highest figure for life expectancy at birth for men was recorded in the autonomous island region of Åland in Finland (82.8 years), but this was closely followed by men from Madrid (82.2 years).

Spaniards from other regions also live longer than most of their European counterparts. Women from Navarre (87.6 years), Castilla y León (87.5 years), Cantabria (87.1 years), Galicia and the Basque (both 87.0 years) completed the female top six rankings, and men from Navarre have the third highest life expectancy in the EU (81.9 years). 

READ ALSO: One in five people in Spain are now over 65

But Madrileños living so long seems to go in the face of conventional wisdom with regards to city versus country living.

Surely living in the capital city, surrounded by millions of people in the hustle and bustle, with smaller living spaces, more pollution and a higher cost of living and stress, would not mean that people live longer?

Not in Madrid. In fact, new research by Spain’s Higher Centre for Scientific Research (CSIC) has revealed that there are more elderly people living in the two biggest cities of Madrid and Barcelona than there are in all small rural municipalities with dwindling populations. In Madrid and Barcelona, there are approximately one million people over 65; compared to the 765,446 who reside in the 6,000 rural municipalities of Spain.

So why is it people in Madrid live longer on average than anywhere else in the EU?

Wealth and private healthcare

As is the case in most countries around Europe, people who live in capital cities tend to be wealthier than elsewhere. In Spain, this is certainly the case. Madrid had the highest GDP per capita in the country with €34,821 per inhabitant, according to figures from Spain’s National Statistics Institute

Crucially, being wealthier allows more people to access private healthcare. It should be said here that Spain is widely regarded as having one of the best public healthcare systems in the world, something that undoubtedly plays a role in the long life expectancy of Madrileños.

However, being able to choose between public and private healthcare can be even more pivotal, especially in order to avoid long waiting times to see a specialist or a doctor. 

Public and private healthcare in Madrid has been a controversial topic in recent years, and stems from the ‘liberalisation’ of the healthcare market in the region pushed by right-wing regional President Isabel Díaz Ayuso.

By autonomous communities, Madrid leads the ranking (40.1 percent) when it comes to private health insurance policy holder, according to figures from El Periódico de España.

It also has the lowest death rates in Spain due to tumours and cardiovascular diseases.

Even though life expectancy in Madrid ranks highly overall, it is worth noting that the capital also has considerable internal disparities. In the Chamartín neighbourhood, for example, the average man lives until he is 84.3 years old, whereas in Puente de Vallecas it is just 81.3 years, according to figures cited by La Razón.

The Spanish secret to a long life

It’s hard to fully understand why Spaniards live so long, but according to the scientists it’s a combination of their Mediterranean diet, a good healthcare system, plenty of walking, a close-knit society and a helpful serving of hedonism.

Genetics, a love of sport as well as the lack of serious social issues and wars also have also played a role in making Spaniards live longer. 

Additionally, over the past decades Spain also managed to drastically reduce the number of deaths due to cardiovascular diseases. Imagine if they cut down on drinking and smoking – Spaniards could no doubt live even longer.

In fact, from 1915 to 2015 life expectancy in Spain doubled, from 42.6 to 84.5 years in women, and from 38.8 to 78.5 in men. 

In 2021, a study by the University of Washington’s Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation predicted that Spain would surpass Japan to boast the world’s longest life expectancy by 2040.

According to Spain’s main stats body (INE), by 2050 Spaniards will be nearing a life expectancy of 90.

READ ALSO: In which parts of Spain do people live longest?

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SPANISH TRADITIONS

Everything you need to know about Mother’s Day in Spain

Here's how and when in May Mother's Day is celebrated in Spain, and why it owes its roots to religion and a Valencian poet.

Published: 3 May 2024 13:37 CEST
Everything you need to know about Mother's Day in Spain

This year, Mother’s Day (El Día de la Madre) is celebrated in Spain on Sunday May 5th. It’s always celebrated on the first Sunday of the month of May.

On this day, young children in Spain give their mothers manualidades (crafts) they’ve made at school as a token of their love.

Husbands and older sons and daughters may buy their wives/mothers a present to say thanks for all that they do as matriarchs, which usually takes the form of a detalle (smaller present than for a birthday or Christmas), and will come accompanied by a message such as te quiero, mamá (I love you, mum).

According to experiences website Aladinia, the average Spaniards spends €65 on gifts on Mother’s Day. 

Other mums may send out text messages to wish each other ¡Feliz Día de la Madre! (Happy Mother’s Day!).

As it’s always celebrated on a Sunday, many shops will be closed but you can expect plenty of restaurants to be open for lunch and perhaps dinner. 

Depending where you’re from, the first Sunday of May may or may not be when you’re used to celebrating Mother’s Day in your home country.

Around the world over 100 countries celebrate Mother’s Day (or Mothering Sunday, more on the difference below) – 77 in May, 13 in March, and 14 at other times during the year.

Some countries, like the UK, celebrate Mothering Sunday on the fourth Sunday during Lent, meaning that the date changes each year. This is because Mothering Sunday was originally a Christian holiday in some European countries.

READ ALSO: How a female teacher campaigned for Spain to have a Father’s Day

Spain, however, celebrates Mother’s Day on the first Sunday in May each year, meaning that it doesn’t have a fixed date either. But it wasn’t always like that.

The history of Mother’s Day in Spain

The first Mother’s Day in Spain was celebrated in Madrid all the way back on October 4th, 1926. Much of the impetus for establishing a day to celebrate mothers came, rather fittingly, from a poet.

Julio Menéndez García, a Valencian poet and public servant, pushed for a special day to celebrate mothers. Spanish newspaper La Libertad published a short section on Garcìa’s efforts in October 1925:

“A Levantine poet, Julio Menéndez García, has had the happy initiative that in Spain and in the Spanish-speaking nations a day should be consecrated to extol the love of mothers. The establishment of Mother’s Day is something tender and sympathetic, which deserves to be welcomed by governments, the press and public opinion, as it involves the highest tribute to women in their most august representation.”

After the Civil War, the church moved the date to December 8th to coincide with the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a key holiday among Catholics. 

Civil War-era poster urging Madrid mothers to leave the Spanish capital with their children before the arrival of Franco’s troops. (Photo by AFP)

But it wasn’t until 1965 that Mother’s Day was celebrated in May in Spain. The reason for this change of date was to separate the celebrations (both were considered important enough to have their own day) but also the influence of other countries, namely the United States.

The campaign for a Mother’s Day was originally started by Anna Jarvis, an American wanting to honour her mother, in 1908. By 1914, US President Woodrow Wilson officially signed it into law, establishing a May date. 

However, for many years in Spain department store El Corte Inglés maintained the date of 8th December, meaning that Spain Mother’s Day was celebrated twice a year for a while, commercially speaking at least.

In 1936 a local council in Breña Baja, on the Canary island of La Palma, became the first in Spain to move Mother’s Day to May.

However, in 1965 the church authorities officially decided to move Mother’s Day to May, a month consecrated to the Virgin Mary. May is also the month of female gods in the classical world, and in Catholicism is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.

Interestingly, Jarvis herself later campaigned against the day, arguing it had become overly commercialised, something Spaniards often bemoan about other imported American customs like Halloween and Valentine’s Day. 

READ ALSO: How a female teacher campaigned for Spain to have a Father’s Day

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