PEOPLE LIVING IN deprived parts of Ireland have a lower life-expectancy than those living in affluent areas, new CSO data shows.

A research paper from the Central Statistics Office examines mortality rates – how many deaths are recorded per 100,000 people in a given year – for the years 2016 and 2017. 

It examined mortality differentials based on a number of factors including social class, religion and level of education. 

The data found the life-expectancy of people living in the most deprived areas in the State was 79.4 years for males, and 83.2 years for females. 

This was considerably lower compared to populations who lived in affluent areas, where men had a life-expectancy of 84.4 years, and women had a life expectancy of 87.7 years.

Carol Anne Hennessy, a statistician said: “Life expectancy varies by area of deprivation [and] life expectancy is higher for females across all ages and quintiles.”

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Irish men and women living in both deprived and affluent areas, however, live longer than the average across the EU-28.

Life expectancy at birth in the EU-28 was estimated at 81 years in 2016, reaching 83.6 years for women and 78.2 years for men. 

Overall, life expectancy in the EU has increased compared to 2002, the first year in which data was available for all EU member states. 

Life expectancy has increased from 77.7 years in 2002 to 81 years in 2016.

The CSO data examined the mortality rate in a number of different areas.

In religion, it was found that protestant adherents had a lower mortality rate in 2016 than Roman Catholics. The CSO recorded 563 deaths per 100,000 people who classed themselves as protestant versus 660 deaths per 100,000 for Roman Catholics. 

On education, the higher the level of education recorded, the lower the standard mortality rate. 

The mortality rate for those that had a third level education was 619 per 100,000, compared to 1,195 per 100,000 for those who had ceased education at primary level. and 818 for those who ceased at secondary level. 

Based on geography, the CSO data pointed out that Galway city and Dublin city had the lowest mortality rates in the country. 

Galway city and suburbs recorded 484 death per 100,000 in a year, while Dublin recorded 596 per 100,000. 

Meanwhile, those who engaged in unskilled and semi-skilled work have a higher mortality rate, while married people also have a lower mortality rate compared to unmarried people.