The Burrow
Jun 9, 2025
It’s human nature to want to live a long, healthy life but for various reasons, some nations live longer than others.
As health insurance comparison experts, we know that keeping active is important for looking after your health. We wanted to see which countries were the most physically active and what the average life expectancy was in these countries.
Here are the results.
The highest scoring country in our index was Sweden, with a score of 9.56/10. Sweden had the eighth-longest life expectancy at 82.66 years, the fifth-longest healthy life expectancy at 71.03 years (healthy life expectancy refers to the average number of years lived in good health without a chronic health condition, whereas life expectancy measures average number of years from birth to death), and one of the lowest proportions of insufficiently active adults at 10.73% among the top 20 countries.
In addition to Sweden’s public health system, the Swedish Government recommends people exercise in accordance with World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. The number of Swedes who exercise frequently has increased since the 80s, helping Sweden take top spot in our Active Vitality Index.1
Second place was a tie between the Netherlands and Luxembourg at 9.06/10. Luxembourg had a slightly higher life expectancy than the Netherlands (82.78 vs 81.12 for life expectancy and 70.77 vs 69.94 for healthy life expectancy), but the Netherlands had a slightly more physically active population, with only 11.43% not meeting recommended exercise targets. In Luxembourg, 15.47% didn’t meet the physical exercise targets.
Both countries have robust public health insurance and active lifestyles. The Dutch in particular are famous for their love of cycling and walkable cities, helping people exercise regularly. Luxembourg’s population is largely active and healthy, with 72% rating their own health as ‘good’.2
Rounding out the top countries was Finland – coincidentally the happiest nation on earth eight years running.3 Finland had a very high life expectancy at 81.53 years, and a healthy life expectancy of 68.84 years. Additionally, only 12.01% of Finland’s population failed to meet physical activity guidelines.
The Finns are regularly active, are known for a love of walking, even in freezing snow, and are one of the most physically active nations in all of Europe.4 Finland also has a robust public health system helping care for its people, which could be contributing to them leading to longer, healthier lives.
It’s no coincidence that the highest-scoring countries on the index are all based in Europe. In the top 20, only six were non-European countries (Singapore, New Zealand, Bhutan, Australia, Israel and China).
These European countries are considered safe and prosperous compared to the rest of the nations in our index (the full list covers 185 countries from around the globe), and most have universal healthcare (though exact details differ between nations).
| Ranking | Country | Life expectancy (years) | Healthy life expectancy (years) | Insufficiently active adults (%) | INDEX SCORE |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 🇸🇪 Sweden | 82.66 | 71.03 | 10.73% | 9.56 |
| 2 | 🇱🇺 Luxembourg | 82.78 | 70.77 | 15.47% | 9.06 |
| 🇳🇱 The Netherlands | 81.12 | 69.94 | 11.43% | ||
| 3 | 🇫🇮 Finland | 81.53 | 68.84 | 12.01% | 8.93 |
| 4 | 🇩🇰 Denmark | 81.18 | 69.73 | 14.48% | 8.80 |
| 5 | 🇨🇭 Switzerland | 83.33 | 70.91 | 21.92% | 8.53 |
| 6 | 🇩🇪 Germany | 80.49 | 68.43 | 15.02% | 8.46 |
| 7 | 🇸🇬 Singapore | 83.86 | 72.37 | 24.60% | 8.44 |
| 8 | 🇳🇿 New Zealand | 82.20 | 69.60 | 20.74% | 8.26 |
| 9 | 🇪🇸 Spain | 82.66 | 70.33 | 25.31% | 8.12 |
| 10 | 🇧🇹 Bhutan | 74.88 | 64.59 | 9.11% | 8.01 |
| 11 | 🇮🇸 Iceland | 82.58 | 71.30 | 27.72% | 7.99 |
| 12 | 🇮🇪 Ireland | 81.60 | 69.81 | 23.91% | 7.95 |
| 13 | 🇦🇺 Australia | 83.10 | 70.13 | 27.96% | 7.88 |
| 14 | 🇦🇹 Austria | 80.99 | 69.05 | 22.90% | 7.83 |
| 15 | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | 80.10 | 68.24 | 21.90% | 7.77 |
| 16 | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | 80.41 | 67.88 | 22.71% | 7.70 |
| 17 | 🇫🇷 France | 81.92 | 69.14 | 27.10% | 7.68 |
| 🇮🇱 Israel | 81.74 | 70.08 | 27.90% | ||
| 18 | 🇨🇳 China | 77.62 | 67.21 | 23.30% | 7.46 |
| 19 | 🇧🇪 Belgium | 81.51 | 69.28 | 28.83% | 7.34 |
| 20 | 🇪🇪 Estonia | 77.13 | 64.13 | 19.50% | 7.28 |
For the full list of 185 nations, click here.
The data showed a clear trend where the most physically active populations actually had the lowest life expectancy, and likewise, most (but not all) countries with the highest life expectancy actually had quite large populations that were not meeting physical activity recommendations.
A prosperous, developed nation naturally creates conditions for citizens to ease back on physical activity while still living longer lives. White collar work is more common in these nations, which is less physically demanding. Likewise, transportation methods are abundant and largely reliable, and this sees many people sitting for extended periods of time. Modern entertainment is largely geared towards people sitting in front of a screen for extended periods of time. A joint article including authors from various health research institutes in Melbourne and other locations noted that modern medicine has prolonged life, while at the same time technological development has led to an increase in sedentary lifestyles.5
When all these factors are combined together, it isn’t surprising that so many long-lived countries have large populations that don’t hit the recommended exercise targets.
The United States of America did not fare well in the index, tying with Hungary in 58th place. America was held back by having a lower life expectancy than many other developed countries (76.37 years), but more importantly, an even lower healthy life expectancy of 62.77 years. America’s rate of chronic illness severely impacts their healthy life expectancy and impacted their score.
In addition, the USA had over a third of the population that did not meet sufficient physical activity levels set by the World Health Organization (WHO) – meaning they did not do 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week or 75 minutes of intense physical activity a week.
Australia missed out on the top 10, but placed a respectable 13th, just behind Ireland but ahead of Austria and the United Kingdom. Australia had one of the longest life expectancies in the world, with the fifth-longest average lifespan on the planet at 83.10 years.
The average healthy life expectancy was also fairly high at 70.13 years, the 12th-highest on the planet. However what really held Australia back was the physical activity levels among the populace. Australia had 27.96% of the adult population that didn’t meet the recommended time spent exercising, and there were 102 countries that had higher activity levels among their populations than Australia.
A long life doesn’t necessarily mean a healthy life – or a happy one. Taking care of yourself and your health is crucial, and maintaining a healthy lifestyle can help you live longer, plus it can help reduce the need for healthcare treatment because it decreases the risk of chronic diseases.6
Having health insurance can help you take charge of your health and help you develop a healthy lifestyle, not just cover medical bills. Compare the Market’s Executive General Manager of Health Insurance, Steven Spicer, explains.
“Some health insurance policies can cover the cost of gym memberships, physiotherapy and other similar appointments to help you exercise and stay fit. You might need to get a doctor to sign off on a healthcare plan, but from the insurer’s point of view, healthy customers are less likely to claim,” Mr Spicer said.
“In Australia, these are known as extras policies, but hospital policies can provide benefits beyond helping pay for the cost of a surgery or treatment. Having private hospital cover allows you to avoid public waiting lists and get treated faster, helping you get back to your life sooner.
Some may assume that if they already have a health condition, or are older, or have a family history, that they may pay more for their health cover because they could be a ‘higher risk’ – but that’s not how it works Down Under.
“Health insurance in Australia is community-rated, not risk-rated. This means that you don’t pay extra if you are living an unhealthy lifestyle or have more health issues than another customer. Things like age, health, and gender are not directly going to affect the cost of your health insurance.
“What will impact your health insurance costs includes things like whether you’re on a family policy, a couple’s policy, or a policy for yourself, as well as the level of coverage you purchase, plus whether you’re eligible for a private health insurance rebate based on your income.”
We gathered data for life expectancy (average lifespan in years from birth), healthy life expectancy (average number of years a person lives in good health), and prevalence of insufficient physical activity in adults (adults who did not achieve 150 minutes of moderate physical activity per week, or less than 75 minutes of more intense physical activity per week) from the World Health Organization. These data points were taken for 185 countries and use the latest available data for each country. For each of the three metrics, countries were given a score between 0 and 10 depending on how they performed in relation to all the other countries. These three scores out of 10 were then averaged to create an overall index score.
The scores were rated using the following methods:
References: