People aged over 65 who live in cities tend to feel they have better health compared to all people of this age group who feel the same way, with the shares for Cyprus being a little lower than the EU average, according to data released by Eurostat, the statistical service of the European Union.

Social and environmental characteristics of urban areas seem to play an important role in determining the health status of the population.

In 2021, at EU level, 42.5% of people aged 65 and over living in cities reported that they had a good or very good health status; this was 2 percentage points (pp) higher than the national average for all people of this age group (41%).

In Cyprus, 40% of people aged 65 and over living in cities reported that they had a good or very good health status; this was 1.3 pp higher than the national average for all people of this age group (38.7%).

Eight EU members reported shares above 50% of people aged 65 and over living in cities with good or very good health status. The highest proportions were recorded in Ireland (66%), Sweden (64%) and Belgium (60%). On the other hand, the lowest proportions were recorded in Lithuania (11%), Latvia (15%) and Portugal (21%).

Among the EU countries, the largest difference in the proportion of older people living in cities reporting good or very good health status compared with the national average was recorded in Slovenia (+7 pp compared with the national average), followed by Bulgaria and Croatia (+5 pp).

In contrast, the difference was lowest in Luxembourg (-2 pp), the Netherlands and France (-1 pp). In these countries, the proportion of people aged 65 and over reporting a good or very good health status was lower in cities than at the national level.