Life expectancy in Scotland increases

Life expectancy in Scotland increased slightly for both males and females according to new figures from National Records of Scotland. 

The average life expectancy for 2021-2023 is 76.8 years for males and 80.8 years for females. Compared to the average for 2020-2022 it is an increase of about 13 weeks for males and almost 5 weeks for females.

The national figures are still down on where they were prior to the pandemic and most local authorities’ figures are still lower than they were at this point. 

Scotland continues to have lower life expectancy than England and Wales.

Phillipa Haxton, Head of Vital Events Statistics at NRS said: 

“Life expectancy in Scotland peaked in 2012-2014 and plateaued until 2017-2019. Thereafter there was a fall. 

“Today’s figures are still below the peak of 10 to 12 years ago.” 

Life expectancy varies across Scotland’s local authority areas and is strongly linked to deprivation. It is highest in East Renfrewshire, one of the least deprived parts of the country and lowest in the City of Glasgow, the most deprived. 

Male life expectancy was 13.2 years lower in the most deprived areas compared with the least deprived. In the most deprived areas female life expectancy lagged 10.5 years behind the least deprived. 

Life expectancy was highest in remote rural areas and lowest in large urban areas.

Notes 

This news release was updated on Friday 15 of November to correct figures in the national headline figures for males and females. The correction resulted in a reduction of one week in the estimate for males and two weeks for females. The overall trend is not affected. You can find more detail on the publication page of our website. 

The full publication, Life Expectancy 2021-2023, is available on the NRS website alongside data tables including breakdowns for local authorities and health boards.

Life Expectancy Data for the UK is released by ONS and can be found on their website.

Contact: Susie Rose at [email protected]