Although women in Germany still live longer than men, new data reveals striking shifts in the map of life expectancy. While men in all states returned to levels before the Corona pandemic, women recorded a decline in some areas.
A recent study by the Federal Institute for Population Research in Germany (BiB) reveals remarkable shifts in the development of life expectancy during the year 2025. While men were able to regain the levels of life expectancy that prevailed before the Corona pandemic in all German states, the situation remains less stable for women, with noticeable declines recorded in some regions.
Complete recovery in men and differences in women
The study, based on mortality data issued by the Federal Statistical Office, indicates that life expectancy for men rose in all German states during 2025. In Bavaria, men for the first time exceeded the average lifespan of 80 years, while the state of Baden-Württemberg recorded the highest average life expectancy for men at 80.6 years.
The study reported today, Wednesday, November 3, that in contrast, women have only regained pre-Corona pandemic levels in nine states. Some states witnessed a decline in life expectancy, most notably in Thuringia, where the average decreased by about six months to reach 83.2 years. Slight declines were also recorded in Brandenburg, Bremen and Schleswig-Holstein.
Clear regional differences
Regional gaps in life expectancy remain large within Germany. While Baden-Württemberg topped the list of states in terms of life expectancy for men, Saxony-Anhalt ranked last with an average of 76.8 years, reflecting a difference of nearly four years between the best and worst performing states.
These disparities are most evident in eastern Germany, where some states record large gaps between men and women. In Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, life expectancy for men is 77 years, compared to 83.4 years for women, a difference of 6.4 years, which is the largest in the country.
Women still live the longest
Despite the decline recorded in some states, women still live longer on average than men throughout Germany. However, the size of the gap varies from one state to another. While the largest gender gap is recorded in Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, the smallest gap appears in the Saarland, where the difference is only 3.7 years.
Smoking explains part of the phenomenon
Researchers believe that one of the most important factors explaining the difference in trends between the sexes is smoking patterns over the past decades. According to the head of the institute's mortality research group, Pavel Grigoriev, heavy smoking was more widespread among men during the twentieth century, which was then reflected in mortality rates and reduced life expectancy.
However, with the decline in tobacco consumption among men for decades, its negative health effects gradually began to diminish, which today contributes to the improvement of their life expectancy indicators.
Late effects of smoking among women
By contrast, smoking among women became widespread relatively late, starting around the 1970s. Therefore, researchers believe that the health effects associated with smoking continue to appear increasingly among women today, which may explain the slowdown in the improvement of their life expectancy, and even its decline in some states.
The results of the study indicate that differences in life expectancy are not only related to health services or economic conditions, but are also affected by health habits whose effects have accumulated over decades, which makes smoking one of the most prominent factors influencing life expectancy in Germany today.
