According to a Eurostat survey, in ten years Hungary has moved seven places up in international rankings concerning the number of years spent in health, the Parliamentary State Secretary at the Ministry of Human Capacities told the Hungarian news agency MTI on Thursday.

Bence Rétvári, who is also Vice President of the Christian Democratic People’s Party, drew attention to the fact that the number of years spent in health is an indicator which looks into the quality of life expectancy, and demonstrates how many years we can expect to spend free from health deterioration and disease.

In Hungary, since 2010 the situation has improved much in this regard; according to the latest data, the number of years spent in health has increased by more than 3 years, by 3.6 years to be exact, he added.

According to the survey, since 2010 this trend has improved in the case of both men and women. While in the past men could expect to spend only 56.3 years in health, today this number is 60.4. In the case of women, this number has increased from 58.6 years to 61.8 years.

The politician said this also means that in Hungary people can expect to spend 61.1 years in health which is 3.6 years more than in 2010.

Ten years ago, the country was at the bottom of the EU rankings, ranked 21, while today – moving up seven places – it is ranked fourteenth, overtaking countries such as Denmark, Finland, Austria, Estonia, Luxembourg and the Netherlands.

The Eurostat survey also reveals that while the EU average has increased as well in the case of both men and women, in Hungary the situation has improved at twice the rate of the EU average.

“These numbers confirm the benefits of measures introduced such as everyday physical education in schools, the introduction of the so-called ‘crisps’ tax, the reform of school meals, the restriction of smoking, comprehensive health screening programmes and the expansion of sports opportunities throughout the country. All these measures contribute to a healthier lifestyle, and in turn we can all expect to spend more years in good health,” Mr Rétvári said.

(MTI/Cabinet Office of the Prime Minister)