Life Expectancy in Scotland, 2021-2023
Life Expectancy in Scotland, 2021-2023
Last update: 23 October 2024
Next update: October 2025
Frequency: Annual
Correction 23 October 2024 – A number of corrections have been made after the release of this publication. On page 2 of the report the word “fallen” has been replaced with “increased” in the heading of the first tile. The labels for “most deprived” and “least deprived” in the second tile have been corrected. On page 8, “Cancers” has been added to Figure 4b. On page 10, the data label for England’s life expectancy of males has been corrected.
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Key Findings
- Life expectancy in Scotland was 80.9 years for females and 76.9 years for males in 2021-2023
- It has increased by almost 7 weeks for females and 14 weeks for males since 2020-2022 although it is still lower than before the pandemic
- Between the early 1980s and early 2010s, life expectancy was increasing in Scotland but began to plateau from 2012-2014 onwards. It fell during the COVID-19 pandemic and has now risen slightly but remains lower than before the pandemic
- Scotland continues to have the lowest life expectancy of other UK countries
- In 2021-2023 life expectancy was highest in East Renfrewshire and lowest in Glasgow City for both females and males
- Most of Scotland’s council areas have seen a fall in life expectancy compared to before the COVID-19 pandemic
- Female life expectancy in the most deprived areas of Scotland was 10.5 years lower than in the least deprived areas in 2021-2023
- Male life expectancy in the most deprived areas of Scotland was 13.2 years lower than in the least deprived areas in 2021-2023
- Life expectancy was highest in remote rural areas and lowest in large urban areas. This difference was 2.6 years for females and 3.4 years for males
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