Background

Abstract

Health status in the former socialist countries of Europe is much worse than in western Europe. The differences in life expectancy between European countries with the lowest and highest life expectancy at birth are more than 15 years in both men and women (almost 19 years difference between Russia and Iceland in men, more than 16 years difference between Turkmenistan and France in women). Figures 1 and 2 in the previous chapter show that the gap in mortality has largely developed in the past two decades (Uemura and Pisa, 1988). In western Europe, life expectancy increased substantially between 1970s and 1990s. By contrast, in CCEE, life expectancy remained constant or even decreased.