Mapped: The stark north-south divide in UK life expectancy – and where men and women are dying younger

Independent

25-03-2025

Men across the country are, on average, living four fewer years than women – but there are stark disparities across the UK, new analysis shows.
Research from the Centre for Ageing Better found from 2021-2023, the average life expectancy at birth is 79 years for men and 83 years for women.
The charity's 2025 State of Ageing report found men living in the bottom fifth of areas of the country in terms of wealth can expect to live 4.4 fewer years on average than those living in the wealthiest areas of England.
The difference in life expectancy for women in the top fifth and bottom fifth of areas in terms of wealth has now reached an average of 3.7 years.
There is a clear north-south divide in average life expectancy at birth across England, the report found. The lowest life expectancy at birth for men and women is in the North East (77.4 and 81.4 years respectively), according to the Centre for Ageing Better.
The map below shows the life expectancy for men and women in every local authority across the country.
The highest life expectancy is in the south east – 80.3 for men and 84.1 for women, the charity found.
When drilling down to the level of local authorities, the area with the lowest life expectancy for both men and women is Blackpool (73.1 and 78.9 years respectively).
Men living in Hart in Hampshire have the highest life expectancy (83.4 years), more than 10 years longer than men in Blackpool, analysis from the charity found.
The highest life expectancy for women (86.5 years) is in Kensington and Chelsea in London. This is almost eight years longer than for women in Blackpool.
The 2025 State of Ageing report also found the 10 local authorities with the highest life expectancies at birth for men and women are all in the south of England, and the 10 local authorities with the lowest life expectancies are in the north of England and the Midlands.
However, areas in the north of England, such as North Yorkshire, Ribble Valley and Westmoreland and Furness have higher life expectancies than the national average for both men and women.
There are also areas in the south of England, such as Folkstone and Hythe, Eastbourne and parts of London, that have lower life expectancies than the national average.
Dr Carole Easton OBE, Chief Executive at the Centre for Ageing Better, said: 'The substantial regional inequalities highlighted in our new State of Ageing report are truly a matter of life and death. Living in a part of the country where good quality jobs and opportunity is scarce, and where financial insecurity and poverty is rife, is robbing people of their health in later life and depriving them of years spent with loved ones. This is the true human cost of our very unequal society.
'The really worrying trend is that inequality in life expectancy is increasing almost everywhere. The bombardment of shocks from austerity, Covid and the cost-of-living crisis have compounded longer-term health and inequality issues to ensure we truly are the sick man of Europe.'
Dr Easton said urgent action was needed across government, society, and communities 'to put us back on the road to recovery.'
'A Commissioner for Older People and Ageing is urgently needed to lead those efforts. Everyone benefits when older people can live fulfilling, engaged, independent lives in age-friendly societies,' she said.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: 'Life chances and life expectancy should not be determined by your postcode. Through our Plan for Change we are shifting focus from sickness to prevention, targeting the drivers of ill health and catching the biggest killers earlier.'