Finland and Iceland initially had lower mortality rates at the start of the pandemic, but eventually saw higher rates later on. Recently published statistics from Eurostat show that life expectancy has returned to pre-pandemic levels in more than 18 countries in the European Union. However, Finland is one of the seven countries where this has not yet occurred.
In Finland, life expectancy in 2022 was still 0.4 years shorter than in 2019 due to a significant number of elderly deaths during the corona wave in November-December of the same year. The mortality rate for people over 70 was one-third higher during that time compared to other months of the year. However, there are signs that the mortality rate is falling to pre-pandemic levels at the beginning of this year.
On the other hand, Iceland managed to reduce the mortality rate of people over 70 significantly by implementing strict measures at the beginning of the pandemic. Despite this, life expectancy remained at its lowest point last year due to an under-mortality seen in 2020 which may contribute to over-mortality observed in 2022 and 2023.
The aging population has a significant impact on mortality rates, including corona mortality. Weakened immune responses in the elderly make corona infections more likely to be fatal despite vaccinations. Although corona deaths among the elderly do not affect life expectancy as much as younger populations, they can still have an impact if numbers are high.
In 2022, life expectancy for Finns was 81.7 years while for Icelanders it was 82.6 years, with Spain having the highest life expectancy in Europe with an average of 84 years. Life expectancy has been affected differently by