New statistics show that if an Irish woman reaches the age of 80, she is likely to live an extra nine years.

A man is likely to live another seven years.

The figures from Eurostat show that people in France have the longest life expectancy, and can expect to live an extra 11 years if they reach the 80 mark.

Spanish nationals were close behind in the study with an extra 10.4 years.

Ruth Deasy of the EU office in Dublin says the Eurostat figures reveal that women across the European Union are living longer than men: