Spotlight
National life tables – life expectancy in the UK: 2022 to 2024
What's in the bulletin?
- Life expectancy at birth in the UK was 83.0 years for females and 79.1 years for males; this is an increase of 18 weeks from 82.7 years for females and 21 weeks from 78.7 years for males since 2019 to 2021.
- Life expectancy at age 65 years in the UK was 21.2 years for females and 18.7 years for males; this is an increase of 17 weeks from 20.8 years for females and 21 weeks from 18.3 years for males since 2019 to 2021.
- For the UK, life expectancy at birth for females was at the same level that it was in 2017 to 2019, before the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic; for males, it was still slightly below the 2017 to 2019 level.
Past and projected period and cohort life tables: 2024-based, UK, 1981 to 2074
What's in the bulletin?
- Girls born in the UK in 2024 can expect to live to age 90.2 years on average, and boys to age 86.9 years based on projections of cohort life expectancy, which take into account assumed future improvements in mortality.
- Cohort life expectancy at birth in the UK is projected to reach 92.4 years for girls and 89.6 years for boys born in 2049, an increase of 2.2 years and 2.6 years, respectively from 2024.
- The gap between female and male cohort life expectancy at birth in the UK has fallen from 4.4 years in 1981 to 3.3 years in 2024, and is projected to be 2.9 years in 2049.
Life expectancy in care homes, England and Wales
The average number of years care home residents aged 65 years and over are expected to live beyond their current age in England and Wales. Classified as Experimental Statistics.
Datasets related to Life expectancies
-
Life expectancy at birth and selected older ages
Annual data on life expectancy at birth and selected older ages for England, broken down by sex.
-
Expectation of life, low life expectancy variant, UK
Period and cohort expectation of life in the UK using the low life expectancy variant, by single year of age 0 to 100.
-
Expectation of life, principal projection, UK
Period and cohort expectation of life in the UK using the principal projection, by single year of age 0 to 100.
-
Life tables, principal projection, UK
Life tables for the UK, period and cohort, from the principal projection, single year of age 0 to 100. Historical data before 1966 are not accredited official statistics.
-
Mortality rates (qx), principal projection, UK
Period and cohort mortality rates (qx) for the UK using the principal projection, by single year of age 0 to 100.
-
National life tables: UK
Period life expectancy by age and sex for the UK. Each national life table is based on population estimates, births and deaths for a period of three consecutive years. Tables are published annually.
Publications related to Life expectancies
Statistical bulletins
-
National life tables – life expectancy in the UK: 2022 to 2024
Trends in period life expectancy, a measure of the average number of years people will live beyond their current age, analysed by age and sex for the UK and its constituent countries.
-
Past and projected period and cohort life tables: 2024-based, UK, 1981 to 2074
Period and cohort life tables, including expectations of life, using past and projected mortality data from the 2024-based national population projections.
-
Life Expectancy at Birth and at Age 65 by Local Areas in England and Wales: 2012 to 2014
Trends for England and Wales (national, regional and local areas) in the average number of years people will live beyond their current age measured by "period life expectancy".
-
Trend in life expectancy by National Statistics Socioeconomic Classification, England and Wales: 1982 to 1986 and 2012 to 2016
Estimates of life expectancy by personal socio- economic position using the National Statistics Socio-economic Classification based on occupation.
Articles
-
Living longer: is age 70 the new age 65?
Measuring ageing in terms of remaining life expectancy, instead of years lived, may provide a better indicator of the health of our ageing population.
-
Changing trends in mortality: an international comparison
Analysis of period life expectancies and mortality in selected countries globally from 2000 to 2016.
-
Changing trends in mortality
Analysis of age-specific and age-standardised mortality rates for the UK, England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland from 1981 to 2016.
Methodology related to Life expectancies
Find, compare and visualise statistics about places within the United Kingdom.