Despite a significant reduction in regional life expectancy disparities during the 20th century, there are still today important inequalities concerning dying according to where one lives. These inequalities are often linked either to the socioeconomic structure of different regions' populations, or to specific exposure to the risk of dying (life styles, pollution, etc.). The mobility and characteristics of international migrants can also influence the level of mortality of a region. In this context, this contribution assesses the impact of international migration on spatial inequalities concerning average life expectancy. Using original data based on a population register, this paper analyses the effective contribution of international mobility on life expectancy in urban and non-urban areas of Switzerland. The impact of migration on life expectancy is confirmed, migrant populations contributing to increase life expectancy in swiss urban areas, and particularly in the Geneva lake region. In the urban areas of that region, life expectancy is increased by 1.2 years amongst men and 0.6 years amongst women due to the presence of a selected migrant population. However, the contribution of migration on mortality differences between urban and non-urban areas is weak. The contributing factor is essentially the composition of the population in terms of education. Concerning the disparities observed between different urban areas, these cannot be attributed to the structure of the population. © 2018 Universite des Sciences et Technologiques de Lille. All rights reserved.

Switzerland International migrations Urban areas Spatial inequalities Differential mortality

international migration life expectancy urban area socioeconomic status demographic survey living standard Switzerland mortality spatial analysis