Life expectancy of Scots stalls for 8th year and it’s still worst in UK
scots’ life expectancy is continuing to stall – and is lower than the UK figure.
official statistics show the average life expectancy at birth for men is 77.1 years and 81.1 years for women.
the National Records of scotland (NRs) figures also showed men in the wealthiest areas were likely to live 13 years longer than those in the most deprived. For women, the gap was ten years.
the UK life expectancy figures are 79.4 years for men and 83.1 for women. In London’s Westminster area, men can expect to live 84.9 years and women 87.2 years.
scottish life expectancy has increased since the early 1980s but has been largely static since the 2012 to 2014 period. Areas including Dundee, Inverclyde and south Ayrshire have recorded a decrease from that time.
Julie Ramsay, head of vital events statistics at NRs, said: ‘the rate of life expectancy growth has stalled over the last few years in scotland and this has been broadly reflective of the picture throughout the country.
‘Life expectancy varies considerably across scotland. For example, life expectancy for both males and females is at its lowest in Glasgow city, where males are expected to live to 73.6 years and females to 78.5.
‘Life expectancy for females is highest in East Renfrewshire at 84 years and male life expectancy was highest in East Dunbartonshire at 80.5 years.’
However, the figures also show the number of scots living to the age of 100 and beyond has risen.
there were 820 centenarians in scotland in 2019. of these, there were around four times more women than men, with 670 females reaching the milestone in 2019, compared with 150 males.
the number of people over the age of 100 has risen 5 per cent from last year and is the first increase after four years of decline.
Brian sloan, chief executive of charity Age scotland, said: ‘It is heartening to learn that there were 820 people who celebrated their 100th birthday in scotland in 2019 and we welcome the news the number of centenarians is on the rise again after four years of decline. the current generation of centenarians, born at the end of the First World War, have seen transformations in their lives most of us cannot begin to imagine.
‘We can learn a lot about change from them. the rise in numbers demonstrates advances in medicine, and the increasing effectiveness of preventative treatments can help people live longer and healthier lives.
‘But lifestyle plays a part too. Loneliness and isolation, which affects so many older people in scotland, is extremely damaging to physical and mental health and can contribute to early death.
‘However, the overall life expectancy figures and the gap between the wealthiest and poorest areas show economic deprivation still has a huge impact.’
the NRs publication covers the period before the covid-19 pandemic and future reports will be able to examine the impact the virus has had on life expectancy.
It comes after the announcement earlier this year that scotland had dropped down international rankings for wellbeing.
the country experienced one of the biggest falls among developed countries in the Index of social and Economic Wellbeing.
‘Very poor’ life expectancy remained scotland’s weakest area, the report said. It concluded scotland is now behind countries such as Estonia and south Korea, in joint 21st place with slovenia.
‘Deprivation has a huge impact’