Spain ranked best for life expectancy in europe

Marbella, Spain Photo: d_vdm

Want to live for longer? Move to Spain, suggests the latest findings from the World Health Organisation.

The latest figures from the organisation shows that Spaniards have the best health and life expectancy of any country in Europe: residents of Spain are expected to live for 83 years, two years longer than the UK, where people are expected to live until the age of 81.

Plentiful sunshine and fresh air, a Mediterranean diet and fabulous local wine (the Spanish consume 11.2 litres of alcohol per person per year, against a world average of 6.2 litres) are all likely contributors to the robust longevity of the Iberian population.

These factors, plus golden sandy beaches and bustling, contemporary cities, are some of the reasons that Spain is enduringly popular with visitors. Tourist numbers increased by 6 per cent over summer 2015 and are expected to hit 68 million in total for the year, according to José Manuel Soria, Minister of Industry, Energy and Tourism.

Spain's property market is also faring well. According to Q2 2015 figures from the official registrars, the number of house sales in Spain is up 13.91 per cent on the previous year, with 104,530 transactions recorded during the quarter. Ministry of Development figures show that foreign buyers accounted for 18.41 per cent of transactions, while Spanish land registry figures show that buyers from the UK made up 19.8 per cent of those foreign buyers - more than any other nationality.

"Taylor Wimpey España has had a bumper summer," confirms Marc Pritchard, Sales and Marketing Director of the homebuilder, "with UK buyers in particular keen to purchase property here. Many of them are looking for more than just a couple of weeks' use of their second home during the summer months. We're seeing buyers who are keen to stay for extended periods - often weeks or months at a time - and many who plan to make the move to Spain fulltime."