Key points from article :
New figures from the UK’s Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that women’s life expectancy has rebounded to pre-pandemic levels, while men’s has not yet fully recovered. According to the latest estimates, a baby girl born between 2022 and 2024 can expect to live an average of 83.0 years—matching levels seen just before Covid-19. Boys born in the same period are expected to live 79.1 years on average, an improvement from the pandemic low but still slightly below the 79.3 years recorded in 2017–19.
The data highlight how the pandemic disrupted long-term trends in longevity. Life expectancy in the UK rose steadily from the 1980s through the 2000s, but gains slowed and plateaued in the 2010s even before Covid struck. The sharp rise in deaths during 2020 and 2021 caused a noticeable dip, and while recent figures suggest recovery—especially for women—it is still unclear whether the UK is entering a new period of improvement or returning to the stalled progress seen before the pandemic.
Large regional inequalities persist. England has the highest national life expectancy, while Scotland has the lowest for both men and women. At a local level, the gap is stark: boys born in Hart, Hampshire, can expect to live 10 years longer than those born in Blackpool, which again recorded the lowest male life expectancy. For girls, the difference between the highest and lowest areas is 8.4 years. Almost all areas with the highest life expectancy are in the south of England, while many of the lowest are in Scotland, northern England, and parts of Wales.
Experts say the figures show recovery from the immediate shock of the pandemic but underline deeper, long-standing problems. Jason Strelitz of the Health Foundation noted that if pre-2012 trends had continued, men would be living 3.6 years longer and women 2.6 years longer than they are today. The findings reinforce calls for stronger prevention-focused health policies and coordinated government action to reduce regional and social inequalities in health and longevity.
