The average life expectancy at birth in the capital of Lanzarote is 81 years, according to the series of Urban Indicators published by the National Institute of Statistics (INE).
There are only three municipalities in Spain with more than 20,000 inhabitants where people live less: La Línea de la Concepción, in Cádiz, the only one below 80 years and where people live on average 79.7 years; secondly, Ceuta, with a life expectancy at birth of 80 years; and in third place Melilla, where people live on average 80 and a half years.
The fourth place, which Arrecife occupies, is shared ex aequo with the city of Cádiz and with Telde, in Gran Canaria. The three municipalities agree that their citizens have an average life expectancy at birth of 81 years.
On the opposite side of the table, five Madrid municipalities exceed 85 years on average. The first is Pozuelo de Alarcón (86.2); Majadahonda (85.9); Alcorcón (85.4); Las Rozas (85.3) and Alcobendas (85.3).
In Las Palmas or Santa Cruz de Tenerife it barely exceeds 81 years
The Canary Islands in general do not fare well either according to the INE data. Being born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria only means living on average 36 days more than in Arrecife, since its life expectancy is 81.1 years. In Santa Cruz de Tenerife it is 81.4 years.
The INE data seems to indicate a correlation between life expectancy and income per inhabitant. Especially in the municipalities where people live longer. Pozuelo de Alarcón is not only the municipality in Spain with more than 20,000 inhabitants with the highest life expectancy, but also the one that accumulates the highest level of income in the country, which amounts to 28,326 euros per inhabitant.
Also Majadahonda (20,672 euros), Las Rozas (20,605) and Alcobendas (18,684) have some of the highest incomes in the country per inhabitant.
Income per inhabitant and other variables
Meanwhile, the average income per inhabitant of Arrecife is 9,677 euros, in Telde it is 10,840, while in La Línea de la Concepción it is 9,187 euros.
However, income alone cannot explain the phenomenon, since both Ceuta, with 12,358 euros, and Melilla, with 11,665 euros, and especially Las Palmas, with 12,509 euros per inhabitant, and Santa Cruz de Tenerife, with 12,547 euros per capita, are very close to the average income of Alcorcón, which does not reach 13,000 euros and despite this, it is the third municipality with the highest life expectancy in the country.
The case of Alcorcón, forces us to consider other variables to understand the phenomenon, probably the proximity to hospitals, treatments and medical professionals of excellence. The same happens in other populations in the southern corridor of Madrid with incomes similar to those of Alcorcón, such as Leganés where life expectancy reaches 84.5 years or Getafe where it is 84.4.
