November 5, 2026, 8:56 am | Read time: 2 minutes
How long we live depends on many factors. Location also plays a role: In southern Germany, the statistical life expectancy is particularly high, while some eastern German states show lower values. New calculations by the Federal Institute for Population Research (BiB) also reveal that the life expectancy of women and men has recently developed differently.
Among men, Baden-Württemberg leads with a life expectancy of 80.6 years. Bavaria also reaches the 80-year mark with 80.0 years. For women, Baden-Württemberg, Saxony, and Bavaria are at the top. The lowest values were recorded for men in Saxony-Anhalt and Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, and for women in Saarland and Bremen.1
The regional differences are considerable: Between the state with the highest and the one with the lowest life expectancy, there is a gap of about 3.9 years for men and about 2.6 years for women. However, this does not mean that everyone in a region will automatically live longer or shorter.
Men are catching up–declines for women
In 2025, the statistical life expectancy of men increased in all states. For women, the development was less uniform: In Thuringia, the value dropped by half a year within one year. Brandenburg, Bremen, and Schleswig-Holstein also recorded declines.
A possible explanation for the different development could be smoking habits. “Among men, heavy smoking was much more widespread in the 20th century than among women, with significant impacts on mortality,” explains Pavel Grigoriev, head of the Mortality Research Group at BiB. For men, tobacco consumption declined several decades ago. For women, smoking only became more prevalent from around 1970. The health consequences could therefore still be increasing for them today.
What does life expectancy actually indicate?
Life expectancy is not a personal forecast. It describes how old people would statistically become if current mortality conditions remained constant. A decline does not mean that individuals will suddenly die half a year earlier.
Nor can the regional figures alone reveal which factors cause the differences. In addition to health behavior, other living conditions and differences in care may play a role. The current calculations mainly show that life expectancy in Germany still varies significantly by region.