For Germany, it is instructive to compare detailled maps of life expectancy vs. household income. Both seem to be very much correlated. A clear East vs. West a

For Germany, it is instructive to compare detailled maps of life expectancy vs. household income. Both seem to be very much correlated. A clear East vs. West and to a lesser extent North vs. South difference is obvious. In Western Germany, most region with very low life expectancy are those regions that were under strong economic pressure in recent decades (usually former mining areas, such as the Ruhr Area and the Saarland). Here is a 2020 map of life expectancy: https://www.demogr.mpg.de/media/13419_main.png https://www.demogr.mpg.de/media/13419_main.png And here a 2019 map of household income: https://www.wsi.de/de/einkommen-14582-einkommen-im-regionalen-vergleich-40420.htm https://www.wsi.de/de/einkommen-14582-einkommen-im-regionale... Differences is smoking might also have an important impact. Here is a 2013 map: https://bilder.deutschlandfunk.de/FI/LE/_f/47/FILE_f4790b165504a68e4e30cdad02e9955b/die-deutschen-rauche-47183863-jpg-100-1280xauto.jpg https://bilder.deutschlandfunk.de/FI/LE/_f/47/FILE_f4790b165... This seems to imply an even closer correlation. Of course, correlation does not imply direct causation. The underlying causalities might be various, complex and different from region to region.