Life expectancy in Scotland has risen for both males and females according to new figures from National Records of Scotland.
The average life expectancy for 2022-2024 was 77.12 years for males and 81.06 years for females. This is an increase of almost 18 weeks for males and almost 14 weeks for females, compared to the average for 2021-2023.
After falling during the COVID-19 pandemic, life expectancy has since risen and is now at a similar level to in the years leading up to the pandemic.
Life expectancy varies across Scotland’s local authority areas and the gap between Scotland's most and least deprived areas remains stark – a difference of 13.2 years for males and 10.5 years for females.
In 2022-2024, life expectancy was highest in East Renfrewshire (84.9 years for females and 81.5 years for males), and lowest in Glasgow City (78.7 years for females and 74.3 years for males).
Scotland continues to have the lowest life expectancy among UK countries. In 2022-2024, life expectancy in Scotland remained over two years lower compared to England for both females and males. The gap compared to Wales was smaller, although still over a year.
Phillipa Haxton, Head of Vital Events Statistics at NRS, said:
“Life expectancy has risen since the COVID-19 pandemic and is now similar to the pre-pandemic figures.
“The gap between Scotland's most and least deprived areas remains significant, and large differences in life expectancy can be seen between local authorities.”
Across Scotland, people living in the most rural areas can generally expect to live longer than those in the most urban areas.
