Prague - They say that moving home is one of the most stressful experiences life can offer. Still, you might want to give it a try after you finish reading this.
According to the Czech Statistical Bureau (ČSÚ) your life-span can differ by as many as four years depending on where in the Czech Republic you live.
For example men from Hradec Králové will live, on average, by more than four years longer than their compatriots from Teplice and surrounding area.
The difference is highlighted by the latest ČSÚ data which quantifies the life expectancy at birth.
Czechs live ever longer
Men live longest in Prague and Hradec Králové, where the average life-span is 74 years. Women die last in Zlín, but not before they are 80.
Both sexes combined, Czech live longest in and around Hradec Králové, Pardubice, Vysočina (The Highlands) and south Moravia.
On the opposite end of the list of desirable places to live, if you really want to stick around for some time, is north Bohemia and north Moravia.
The average life expectancy in the Czech Republic right now is 72 years for men and almost 79 years for women, which is an increase of about five years compared to the situation of two decades ago.
Globally speaking, Japanese and Scandinavians are the top league in longevity, whereas sub-Saharan Africa continues to be a short-life guarantee.
See the life maps - blue for men and yellow for women (the darker it gets, the better)
Blame it on the environment. Or education
As the main reasons for short life-span in north Bohemia statisticians are listing bad environment, high percentage of manual labour and widespread social problems.
There is, however, certain level of disagreement amongst them when it comes to figuring out the differences between some of the other regions.
There has been a number of studies claiming the existence of connection between longevity and higher education.
You will see urban dwellers living longer in the Czech Republic. And as Kryštof Zeman from the Czech Statistical Bureau points out, it is the urban population that is more educated, on the average.
The 2003 ČSÚ analysis gave men from the cities about 9-month longer life expectancy than their peers from the countryside. Among the women, however, the difference was negligible.
The higher mortality of men compared to women is explained by their higher unemployment rate, smoking and drinking, according to the experts.
The quality of health-care is another obvious influence on the life-span. And statisticians also noted higher number of abortions, out-of-wedlock births and divorces in the regions where people die younger.
You can find the story in its original Czech version here.
