Irish people die younger than any other EU citizens, according to new figures published by the European Commission today.
The figures show that in 2001, the average life expectancy for women in the European Union stood at 81.4 years old, while men lived until 75.3 years.
French women hold the record for female longevity, living until 83, while the average Irish woman tends to die at the younger age of 78.5.
Swedish men outlive all other EU males to 77.5 years old, and Irish men join their women at dying the youngest, at 73.
Since 1980, women have added 4.2 years to their lives and men have added 4.8, according to the figures, compiled from information by the Eurostat statistics office and the Council of Europe.
Infant mortality has been dropping across the European Union, with only 4.6 deaths for every 1,000 births in 2001 - down from 4.7 deaths last year.
That number falls below that of the United States, which registered 6.8 infant deaths last year.
The study also found that Europeans are taking fewer trips down the aisle, with a 15 percent drop in marriages from 1980 to 2000.
Danes are most inclined to marry, with 6.6 weddings for every 1,000 people in 2001. Their Swedish neighbors, meanwhile, marry the least often, with just four weddings for every 1,000 people.
While the marriage rate dropped, the divorce rate rose a whopping 40 per cent from 1980 to 2001.
Belgians led the way for the most divorces - 2.9 for every 1,000 people - while couples in traditionally Catholic Ireland and Italy opted to stay together, divorcing just 0.7 times for every 1,000 people.
With so few marriages and so many divorces, having children out of wedlock has become more popular.
Between 40 and 55 per cent of all children in Britain, France and the Scandinavian countries were born to unwed mothers.
Some 55.5 per cent of all births in Sweden were out of wedlock in 2001, while the same was true for just 4.1 percent in Greece and 0.9 percent in Italy in 2000.
AFP