Female healthy life expectancy Official statistics in development
This indicator shows the average years expected to be lived in good health for females born during the reference period (official statistics in development), in the United Kingdom, for three-year rolling periods between 2011 to 2013 and 2022 to 2024.
- Data source:
- Office for National Statistics (opens in a new tab)
- Published on:
- 19 February 2026
Selected areas:
- United Kingdom
Map
Female healthy life expectancy
Average years expected to be lived in good health for females born in the given year, upper tier/unitary authorities, 2022-24
Line chart
Female healthy life expectancy
Average years expected to be lived in good health for females born in the given year, upper tier/unitary authorities, 2011-13 to 2022-24
Bar chart
Female healthy life expectancy
Average years expected to be lived in good health for females born in the given year, upper tier/unitary authorities, 2022-24
Table
Female healthy life expectancy
Average years expected to be lived in good health for females born in the given year, upper tier/unitary authorities, 2011-13 to 2022-24
Interpretation
Healthy life expectancy is a summary measure of health that adds a quality dimension to estimates of life expectancy by dividing expected lifespan into time spent in different states of health. Healthy life expectancy measures health-related wellbeing and represents the average time an individual is expected to live in "very good" or "good" general health, based on how individuals perceive their general health.
The estimates in this indicator have been produced using an interim methodological fix. The decline in sample size of the Annual Population Survey has impaired our ability to continue using the previous method to estimate age-specific prevalence of "good" general health by local authority. We therefore used logistic regression to estimate "good" health prevalence instead of using the survey's observed prevalence. This enables continuity in local area reporting with a viable, comparable time series. ONS is currently conducting a review of data sources to assess their future potential to provide robust, reliable and durable measures of health status.
Figures are based on the number of deaths registered, mid-year population estimates, and health state prevalence aggregated over three consecutive years. Figures exclude deaths of non-residents.
Estimates for Isles of Scilly and City of London are excluded because of insufficient population counts.
Estimates for Northern Ireland’s local government districts are available only from 2014 to 2016 onward.
These estimates of healthy life expectancy in Northern Ireland use different methods and data sources compared to those produced by the Northern Ireland Department of Health; please see their Health inequalities annual report for more information.
More quality and methodology information on strengths, limitations, appropriate uses, and how the data were created is available in the Health state life expectancies, UK quality and methodology information (QMI) report.
Get the data
You can download this dataset in an XLSX, CSV or CSVW format, or download all available datasets in an XLSX or JSON-Stat format.
The original source data for this indicator can be found on the following page: Office for National Statistics(opens in a new tab).
Information on the strengths and limitations of the Explore Local Statistics service and methods used is available in the quality and methodology information (QMI) report.
Other indicators
Female healthy life expectancy is one of 104 local indicators on the Explore local statistics service. See the full list of local indicators.