Mortality and life expectancy

More years of life lost among men than among women

There are substantial differences between the sexes in life expectancy and mortality, which are reflected in a higher number of years of life lost among men. In 2020–2022, the number of years of life lost among men was nearly twice that of women.

One third of the differences is explained by men’s higher mortality from diseases of the circulatory system. Alcohol-related diseases account for 20 per cent, accidents for 15 per cent and suicides for 10 per cent. Chronic respiratory diseases and cancers play a smaller role (respiratory diseases under 5% and cancers under 2%), and other causes of death account for around 15 per cent of the differences.

Differences in health between men and women are influenced not only by biological factors but also by social and cultural factors, such as lifestyles, working conditions and socioeconomic background.

Differences by socioeconomic status are clear and persistent

Socioeconomic differences are particularly evident in life expectancy and years of life lost. In 2020–2022, the number of years of life lost was clearly higher among low-income than high-income groups across all causes of death. The absolute difference between income groups was 10,410 for women and 21,335 for men per 100,000 residents of the same age. The relative difference between income groups was 4.8 times among women and 5.2 times among men.

The largest absolute difference in years of life lost was in diseases of the circulatory system: 1,908 among women and 5,142 among men. In alcohol-related deaths, the absolute difference between income groups was 1,196 among women and 3,934 among men.

The largest relative difference between income groups was in alcohol-related deaths, exceeding 11-fold in both sexes. In accidental deaths, the difference between income groups was eightfold among women and 6.9-fold among men.

For the other causes of death examined, the differences between income groups in prematurely lost years of life were substantial both in absolute and relative terms.

About the data in more detail

Indicator data in Sotkanet (Mortality by cause of death)

Background information

Manderbacka K, Lindell E, Suomela T, Lumme S, Koskinen S, Martelin T, Parikka S. Social status and potential years of life lost in Finland 2017–2019. Data Brief 56/2021 (in Finnish).
Manderbacka K, Lindell E, Suomela T, Lumme S, Koskinen S, Parikka S. Is regional equality realised in potential years of life lost? Data Brief 35/2022. (in Finnish)

Source

Health inequalities. Eds. Laura Kestilä and Sakari Karvonen. Solutions for building a sustainable society: Population Health and Wellbeing Report 2025. Report 8/2025.

Description of the statistics

The PYLL index indicates the number of years of life lost due to premature deaths at a certain frequency. The upper age limit of 80 years used in this study corresponds to the life expectancy of a newborn in Finland. For example, a person who died on their 25th birthday is considered to have lost 55 years of life, while a person who died on their 70th birthday is considered to have lost 10 years of life. Thus, the PYLL index does not consider deaths below the age of 25. The PYLL index describes the combined number of life years lost per 100,000 inhabitants.

The PYLL index is calculated based on data classified by five-year age group separately by gender and by income quintile. The number of lost years of life is estimated as the number of deaths in each age group in 2017–2019 and the number of lost years estimated by age group. The result is divided by the number of person-years in the age group. Finally, age-specific figures are added together using the age structure of the population aged 25 to 80 as weights in 2001, so that differences in age structure do not distort income-specific and gender-specific comparisons. The PYLL indices available in THL's Sotkanet.fi statistical data service have been standardised to the population structure for the same year.

The higher the PYLL index reading, the more life years lost in that period.

Update Schedule

Potential years of lost life (PYLL) indices are updated annually in the spring to THL's Sotkanet. The next statistical update will take place in the spring of 2026.