Secrets of the longest-living nations on Earth

Who would have thought it? The UK – home of the deep-fried Mars bar, river sewage and Hull – has the worst life expectancy of anywhere in western Europe.

Those born in the wards of Great Britain and Northern Ireland can expect to live for 80.9 years, compared to the average of 81.5 years across the 27 countries in the EU.

But why is it that stepping off a P&O Ferry onto the Continent, with a suitcase of your belongings and the intention to never return, would buy you months (or in many cases, years) of sweet, sweet life?

The most straightforward answer is healthcare. Access to GPs, quality of pharmacies, dentistry, at-home care services. These factors explain why the Spanish live longer than anyone else in Europe, according to the country’s secretary of state for health.

But there’s some alchemy at play, too. Japanese elders point to forest bathing as the elixir of life. In Italy, a low-meat diet explains their longevity. In Australia, beach life and golf are to thank, while the Swiss increasingly rely on oxygen chambers and ice baths.

We turned to our destination experts in these countries to give practical advice on how the British can enjoy longer, happier lives. Here’s what they had to say.

Switzerland: White wine and mountain air

If you stroll through one of the supermarket complexes in Switzerland’s Valais region at 11am on a weekday, you might well find a bar full of OAPs quaffing glasses of the local white fendant as they catch up on the latest gossip before hitting Migros (the Swiss equivalent of Sainsbury’s). And though that might not seem like a fantastic sign of longevity, it’s worth noting that social connectedness is one of the best indicators of later life happiness.

What they put in their baskets should also help. Strong national pride means that the Swiss eat seasonally (there’s little imported or processed nonsense for them, though the chocolate aisles and cheese counters can prove hard to resist). Then there’s the practicalities of the Valais landscape and many others in the country: in the hills around Verbier, it’s common to find over 60s climbing the steep footpaths between villages with the ease of mountain goats.

And if their knees should start to hurt? Well, there’s excellent healthcare for that (though, admittedly, the monthly payments would make anyone feel ill).

Don’t imagine that Swiss longevity only applies to milk-fed, free-ranged country dwellers though. In Zurich, bankers can now attend a new clinic dedicated to helping them stay healthier for longer through ice baths, oxygen chambers and more – in some cases, recreating the conditions they would find if they stepped into the mountains.

A holiday to book

Get your own dose of mountain air and exercise on Exodus’s eight-day Classic Swiss Alps Walk, which traverses the peaks and valleys of the Bernese Oberland, from £1,239pp, including meals and transport but excluding flights.

Amanda Hyde

Australia: Sunshine and sports

Life in Australia is not an endless parade of surfing, barbecues and backyard cricket. This wide, brown land crawls with danger – from venomous spiders to man-eating crocs. Locals endure epic droughts, bushfires and floods, plus biblical plagues of mice, locusts and frogs. Despite these myriad threats, Australia has one of the best life expectancy rates in the OECD (the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development), reaching a peak of 83.9 years in 2023.

Demographers will no doubt attribute this happy result to abundant sunshine, clean air, affordable (until recently) fresh produce and a universal health insurance scheme. But Australia’s passion for sport is surely a major factor. Most suburbs have public swimming pools, tennis courts and cricket nets. The urge to win is in the DNA. “Second place is nowhere, Dad,” said my 12-year-old son once. Kids are inculcated with the sports bug from an early age, playing cricket, Aussie rules football, soccer, netball and rugby from the age of five.

That passion for physical activity continues into later life. Beaches, golf courses and waterways are thronged with fit, leathery skinned pensioners showing that they’ve still got it. Or perhaps just extolling Australia’s other great national attribute: optimism. “Make the most of every day,” one old-timer said to me. “You’re a long time dead, ain’t yer?”

A holiday to book

The Twelve Apostles Signature Walk is a four-day guided adventure that combines hiking, bracing sea air, delicious food and wine, native wildlife and oodles of local history. The walk hugs the southern coast of Victoria and includes the iconic Twelve Apostles rock formation. The terrain is moderately challenging, but hikers only need to carry a day pack. Accommodation is at a comfortable (and warm) modern eco-lodge. Priced from £‎1,233 pp. The Australian Walking Company offers similar trips in Tasmania, South Australia and the Northern Territory.

Mark Chipperfield

Italy: Good food and respect for the elderly

Longevity has quite a lot to do with how happy, healthy and well-looked after the elderly are, and here Italy enjoys a few advantages. The strength of the family means fewer old people live alone, and if they do it’s often close to relatives. The country’s public health system is good on preventive medicine. And there are far more sunny days available for going for a walk or sitting outside a café playing cards with your friends.

But diet and lifestyle are even more important. Alarm bells were ringing in Italy recently when adult obesity rates approached 12 per cent. In England, they stand at 26 per cent. Interestingly, Italy has for years had an issue with infant obesity – suggesting that once they start to rebel against their doting parents, many of those overfed bambini start eating properly and getting more exercise.

Eating plenty of fruit and vegetables and relatively little meat has been shown to be a key factor in regions of Italy famous for longevity. Among these are the Cilento, a mountainous coastal area of southern Italy where, in villages like Acciaroli, one in 10 inhabitants are over 100 years old.

A holiday to book

In Paestum, the gateway to the region, the luxurious Savoy Hotel & Spa currently offers a “Savoy Dream” package that includes a spa treatment and a meal for two in the resort’s Mediterranean-diet-inspired restaurant Tre Olivi (from £240 per person per night).

Lee Marshall

Spain: Eating little and often

Sitting at a terrace table, eating some just-caught fish with a salad dressed with plenty of olive oil and enjoying a glass of wine, is something most of us love doing in Spain. Knowing it might help us live longer too makes the smiles on our faces even smugger. Otra botella por favor!

By 2040, Spaniards are forecast to have the best life expectancy in the world, reaching an average of 85.8 years. It’s not all down to the vino and lazy afternoons in the sun, sadly, as the major factor is thought to be the excellent, free healthcare system. Madrilenians live the longest in Spain, which is probably a combination of having some of the top hospitals in the country and an above-average percentage of high incomes.

Eating proper meals at set times is still a very entrenched part of Spanish life, which not only means less mindless grazing, but also more time with friends and family – including the older generations.

Next in the ranking after Madrid come the neighbouring northern regions of La Rioja and Navarra, where they not only produce fabulous wine but also have cuisines that feature a lot of locally grown vegetables and pulses.

A holiday to book

If you want to improve your life chances, I highly recommend a cycling holiday, visiting vineyards and trying different wines over leisurely dinners in gorgeous villages. For challenging rides, book a self-guided week on the La Rioja wine route with Saddle Skedaddle (from £1,395 pp). Or focus more on the food and wine of the area with Cycling for Softies (from £1,364). Book flights separately for both.

Annie Bennett

Japan: Sociability and impromptu naps

Tomiko Itooka starts every day with a fermented milk drink, loves bananas and has hiked countless mountains across Japan. She is also 116 years and 181 days old – making her the oldest living human being on the planet.

Japan is something of a mecca when it comes to unravelling the mysteries of ageing. Itooka is one of a record number of Japanese centenarians – 95,119 at last count, in September, marking an increase of nearly 3,000 from the previous year, according to health ministry figures.

Eating seaweed, impromptu public napping, social connection, forest bathing: an eclectic patchwork of interconnected factors – philosophical and cultural as well as healthcare-related – has fuelled a booming silver age demographic, with Japan’s average life expectancy currently hitting 87 years for women and 81 for men.

In addition to universally accessible healthcare, a key starting point is food, with traditional Japanese diets famously rich in fish, rice, seasonal vegetables and fermented foods.

But it’s not just the ingredients: the popular phrase hara hachi bu – or “eating until 80 per cent full” (as opposed to bursting-full capacity) – reflects a restrained and mindful Japanese approach to consuming.

And then there is social connection, with a strong cultural emphasis on community and respect for the elderly. This is particularly visible in the far-flung southern islands of Okinawa – an official Blue Zone and longtime focus of longevity studies – where community threads are often based on moai, a lifelong social network offering support and a sense of belonging.

Added to the mix is ikigai – a word that reflects an individual’s sense of purpose or reason for living, be it flower arranging, playing chess or mountain climbing – a mental-health boosting motivation closely tied to longevity.

Not to forget inemuri, which literally translates as “sleeping while present” – reflecting the socially accepted practice of taking short naps in public or during activities such as meetings or train rides, a restorative skill perfected by countless salarymen.

The end result? A thriving elderly population that is growing rapidly (already nearly a third is aged 65 or over), confirming Japan’s status as a textbook perfect global leader in longevity.

A holiday to book

InsideJapan has a 10-night Okinawa Island Hopping self-guided cultural adventure costing from £5,090pp, including all accommodation, transport in Japan, some private guiding and experiences across the Okinawan islands (international flights are extra).

Danielle Demetriou