Scots are no longer living longer

Upward trend stalls after 35 years

LIFE expectancy in Scotland has continued to stall, according to latest figures.

Males born in 2014-16 can expect to live to the age of 77.1. The figure for females is 81.2.

Over the past 35 years, life expectancy for men has risen by eight years for men and 5.9 years for women.

But statisticians said that between 2013-2015 and 2014-2016, the figures “remained virtually unchanged”, increasing by just 0.01 years for females but decreasing by 0.02 years for males.

They added: “There was also very little change between the 2012-2014 and 2013-2015 life expectancy estimates, indicating that life expectancy is stalling in Scotland.”

However, 2014-based projections are that life expectancy will continue to increase, reaching 82.3 years for men and 85 years for women by 2039.

Life expectancy at birth in Scotland is 2.1 years lower than the UK figure for males and 1.7 years lower for females.

Tim Ellis, the Registrar General of Scotland, said: “The statistics show life expectancy has steadily improved over the past three decades.

“The gap between male and female life expectancy has also decreased.”

It’s also been revealed that over-100s are the fastest growing age group and account for two out of every 10,000 people in the UK.

The number of centenarians hit 14,910 last year – up from 7750 in 2002, the Office for National Statistics said.

There were a record 571,000 over-90s last year.