STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF THE DETERMINANTS OF LIFE EXPECTANCY IN ROMANIA

The study of the life expectancy of a population is important for the evaluation of the degree of economic and social development of a region. The identification of the determinant factors of life expectancy and of the specificity of their actions by regions could offer useful information of making decisions for regional development. In the last decades, life expectancy has significantly increased, but with regional variations according to the specific development conditions. In this paper, we aim at identifying the determinants of life expectancy in Romania, by regions. The study is based on the data registered in each administrative department of Romania, for the year 2008. We used regression analysis in order to identify the factors with significant influence on life expectancy in Romania and the cluster analysis to identify the homogenous groups of counties based on the variation of life expectancy and its determinant factors. The study showed that the determinants with a positive impact on life expectancy are wages, the number of beds in hospitals, the number of doctors, and the number of readers subscribed to libraries, while the determinants with a negative impact on life expectancy are the ratio of the Roma population and the ratio of the illiterate population. In addition, we noticed that the Romanian counties have similarities with respect to the level of the life expectancy and its determinants, forming homogenous groups of counties with specific characteristics.