The expected number of years spent in good health increased by almost two years between 2008 and 2012, despite the crisis. It is even better news that the increase for men amounted to  4.4 years, thus reducing the gap between men and women significantly at the national level. The difference compared to the EU average is less than one and a half years for women and two years for men, but if the present trend continues, the gap will soon disappear.

There has been a slight improvement in terms of the proportion of the population reporting good health status. In 2012, 57.9 percent of the population claimed to be in good health. The EU average in the same year was 69 percent. This means that on average, EU citizens more often report good health status.