Life expectancy in the UK has declined for both men and women, with the latest estimates equal to the same levels of more than a decade ago, according to the latest data from the Office of National Statistics.
Life expectancy at birth in the UK in 2020 to 2022 was 78.6 years for males and 82.6 years for females. That compares to the 2017 to 2019 period, showing that life expectancy has fallen by 38 weeks from 79.3 years for males and by 23 weeks from 83.0 years for females.
“Life expectancy improvements have been slow for the last decade, and the latest estimates of life expectancy at birth are back to the same level as 2010 to 2012 for females and slightly below the 2010 to 2012 level for males,” the ONS said.
Life expectancy at age 65 years in the UK in 2020 to 2022 also fell significantly to 18.3 years for males and 20.8 years for females. That represents a fall of 22 weeks for males and 15 weeks for females compared with life expectancy at age 65 in 2017 to 2019.
But the decline in life expectancy is put down mainly to the pandemic.
“The coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic led to increased mortality in 2020 and 2021, and the impact of this is seen in the life expectancy estimates for 2020 to 2022,” the ONS said.
Uphill challenge for incoming government
Commenting on the ONS life expectancy data in the UK, David Finch, assistant director at the Health Foundation, said: ‘Today’s release serves as a reminder of the UK’s long term life expectancy challenge.
“A fall in life expectancy by 38 weeks for males and 23 weeks for females between 2020-2022 and 2017-2019 reflects higher than average mortality due to Covid-19.
“The release also highlights the historically weak improvement in life expectancy pre-pandemic.
“While high Covid-19 mortality rates are behind us, the main question is now the pace of future improvement and whether the unacceptable gap in life expectancy between richest and poorest areas can be closed.
“The current and incoming governments face an uphill challenge in improving UK citizens’ health and life expectancy.
“Good health and well-being are the UK’s most precious assets – they enable people to achieve their potential, fuel the economy and help build a stronger society.
“However, the weak income growth, pressure on diminished public services, and strain on the NHS offer a bleak picture of future life expectancy.
“Improving health needs long-term cross-government action – across the building blocks of health, such as good-quality jobs and housing, as well as wider public services.’
No bounce back
Veena Raleigh, senior fellow at The King’s Fund, said: “Today’s data from the ONS lays bare the impact that the pandemic has had on life expectancy in the UK.
“It shows that life expectancy at birth fell by about half a year between 2019 and 2022 – from 79.5 to 79 years in males and from 83.2 to 82.8 years in females – slashing life expectancy to the level of a decade ago.
“Although life expectancy has recovered somewhat since the sharp fall in 2020 when the pandemic struck, it’s not had the bounce back that might have been expected once the worst of the pandemic was over, pointing to deeper problems with the health of the nation and the resilience of the health care system.
“Although most countries globally experienced devastating death tolls from Covid-19, several studies have shown that excess mortality in the UK during the pandemic exceeded that of most comparable western European and other high-income countries.
“As the UK’s relatively high mortality during the pandemic came on the heels of stalling life expectancy in the pre-pandemic decade, the result is a further slide in the UK’s already poor ranking relative to comparable countries by 2022.
“Much of the heavy burden of sickness and death in the UK is caused by preventable conditions, such as heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, and diabetes.
“Worryingly, mortality rates from heart disease and diabetes have been rising during the pandemic. This load of preventable sickness and death falls unequally, hitting deprived communities the hardest. But it doesn’t have to be this way.
“Improving life expectancy in the UK will require a coherent cross-government strategy that supports people to make healthy choices, identifies and treats illness earlier, and reduces health inequalities by improving the health of people in deprived communities.”