Ten years apart
72747678808284UK 79.2Men, life expectancy at birth →Deprivation tenth (IMD 2025)1 · most deprived2345678910 · leastWales, Scot., NI72747678808284Men, life expectancy at birth →
Hart 83.7
Blackpool 73.7

Life expectancy across the UK · 2001–2024

Ten yearsapart

A boy born in Hart can expect to live 10.0 years longer than one born in Blackpool, if today's death rates hold. This is where that gap lies, how progress stalled, and what travels with it.

01

Every dot is a place

Each of the 359 dots is a UK local authority, set roughly where it sits on the map. Colour shows how far male life expectancy in 2022–24 sits from the UK figure of 79.2 years: brick for shorter, teal for longer.

The ringed dots are the ten highest and ten lowest. All ten of the highest are in England. Six of the ten lowest are in Scotland.

Hover or tap any dot for its figures.

02

Lined up

Sort every place by life expectancy and most crowd the middle: half sit within 2.6 years of each other. The tails reach much further, from 73.7 to 83.7.

For women the range is 8.4 years, from Glasgow City (78.7) to Kensington and Chelsea (87.1).

10.0

years between the top and bottom, men

02

The stall

For a decade life expectancy rose steadily. Then, well before COVID-19, it almost stopped.

UK, life expectancy at birth (years)7678808284862001–032011–132017–192022–24Gains slowCOVID-19+3.7 months a year+0.8 months a year82.4 on 2001–13 trendMen 79.0+2.8 months a year+0.4 months a year85.3 on 2001–13 trendWomen 82.8

01

A decade of gains

From 2001–03 to 2011–13, UK life expectancy rose by about 3.7 months a year for men and 2.8 months for women.

02

Then it flattened

Between 2011–13 and 2017–19 the gains shrank to 0.8 months a year for men and 0.4 for women. The slowdown began years before the pandemic.

03

COVID and after

COVID-19 pushed life expectancy down. By 2022–24 men were at 79.2 years, still below their 2017–19 level of 79.4. Women were at 83.0.

Had the 2001–13 pace simply continued, men would be at about 82.4. The dashed line extends that earlier trend; it is not a forecast.

3.2

years below the earlier trend, men

03

The split

The stall wasn't shared equally. In England, the most deprived places slipped back while the least deprived kept gaining.

72747678808284UK 79.2Men, life expectancy at birth →Deprivation tenth (IMD 2025)1 · most deprived2345678910 · leastWales, Scot., NI72747678808284Men, life expectancy at birth →76.982.1
Change in life expectancy since 2011–13: average of local authorities in each deprivation tenthMenWomen−0.20+0.2+0.4+0.6+0.8+1.0Change since 2011–13, years →← fellrose →1 · most deprived−0.22−0.23−0.24+0.15+0.16+0.47+0.38+0.29+0.610 · least+0.6
Men, England: mean life expectancy of the local authorities in each deprivation tenth1 most deprived10 least74767880822001–032011–132022–24Most deprived 76.9Least deprived 82.14.4 yrs5.2 yrs

01

Ten steps down

Here England's 294 local authorities are split into ten equal groups by deprivation (IMD 2025). Black ticks mark each group's average.

Life expectancy falls with each step: men in the most deprived tenth average 76.9 years, in the least deprived 82.1. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland use different indices, so they sit apart.

02

Moving apart

Here is how each tenth's average moved between 2011–13 and 2022–24. For men, the three most deprived tenths went backwards; the other seven gained.

The least deprived tenth gained 0.6 years; the most deprived lost 0.2 years. The black ticks show women, where the least deprived tenth gained 0.8 years.

Across the UK, 117 of 359 places now have lower male life expectancy than in 2011–13.

03

A wider gap

The gap between the most and least deprived tenths grew from 4.4 to 5.2 years for men, and from 3.4 to 4.4 for women.

Areas are grouped by today's deprivation ranking throughout. Averages are of areas, not weighted by population.

04

The years in between

Healthy life expectancy counts the years people rate their health as good or very good. Here the gap is wider still.

Years in good healthYears not in good health
020406080
  1. 1
    0.0
  2. 2
    0.0
  3. 3
    0.0
  4. 4
    0.0
  5. 5
    0.0
  6. 6
    0.0
  7. 7
    0.0
  8. 8
    0.0
  9. 9
    0.0
  10. 10
    0.0

Years from birth, 2022–24 · mean of upper-tier areas in each deprivation tenth

Gap in healthy years
0.0years

least vs most deprived tenth

Gap in total lifespan
0.0years

same areas, same period

Years not in good health
0.0 / 0.0years

most / least deprived tenth

Healthy life expectancy is published for upper-tier authorities in England; districts share their county's figure. ONS labels it official statistics in development, and its survey changed during the pandemic. UK healthy life expectancy for men was 62.7 in 2011–13 and 60.7 in 2022–24; treat that fall with some caution.

05

What travels with it

Across English local authorities, life expectancy lines up closely with local circumstances. Each panel plots one against male or female life expectancy.

Deprivation score

r−0.89
75808501020304050Eng

Deprivation score (IMD 2025), 2025. England 21.8.

Child poverty

r−0.88
7580850%10%20%30%40%50%Eng

Children in absolute low-income families, 2024/25. England 19.8%.

Physical inactivity

r−0.64
75808510%20%30%40%Eng

Physically inactive adults, 2024/25. England 21.8%.

Obesity

r−0.60
75808510%20%30%40%50%Eng

Adults living with obesity, 2024/25. England 26.6%.

Alcohol admissions

r−0.58
75808505001,0001,5002,000Eng

Alcohol-specific hospital admissions, 2023/24. England 612.

Fuel poverty

r−0.57
7580854%6%8%10%12%14%16%Eng

Households in fuel poverty, 2024. England 10.0%.

Smoking

r−0.54
7580850%5%10%15%20%25%Eng

Adults who smoke, 2024. England 10.4%.

Unemployment

r−0.49
7580850%2%4%6%8%10%Eng

Unemployment, 2025. England 4.5%.

Air pollution deaths

r+0.06
7580853%4%5%6%7%8%Eng

Deaths attributable to fine particulate air pollution, 2024. England 5.3%.

These are correlations between areas (Pearson r, −1 to +1). They don't show cause, they overlap with each other, and they say nothing about any individual. Air pollution barely correlates: all 30 of the 30 areas with the highest burden are London boroughs, and their men average 80.3 years, against 79.5 for England. Factors come from OHID Fingertips (fetched 2026-09-24); see the periods on each panel.

06

Your place

See how your local authority compares: life expectancy, healthy years, the trend since 2001 and local circumstances.

TryHartBlackpoolKensington and Chelsea

The atlas →

Every measure on one map, from 2001–03 to 2022–24.

The evidence →

All fifteen local indicators, plotted and ranked.