Life expectancy has risen but remains below pre-covid levels

Recent statistics released by the National Records of Scotland (NRS) show that life expectancy has risen in Scotland.

Both male and female life expectancy has seen a slight increase. However, the report shows that levels are still lower than pre-covid levels.

The female life expectancy figures from 2023 show a rise from 80.8 years to 80.9 years, whilst male figures show a rise from 76.6 years to 76.9 years. Despite these modest rises, it remains lower than pre-COVID levels where life expectancy was 81.1 and 77.1 respectively. Those statistics were reached from 2012-2014 and has plateaued ever since.

The NRS report also showed that Scotland had significantly lower life expectancy levels compared to the other countries in the UK and most of Western Europe.

There are also disparities between affluent areas and deprived areas. East Renfrewshire, has the highest life expectancy rates with men at 81 years and women at 84.5. This compares to Glasgow which has the lowest figures with men at 73.6 years and women at 78.3.

Several reasons can explain Scotland’s stagnation over the past decade. Austerity measures put in place in the early 2010s are often cited for the slight decline in figures. Those measures, which led to a cut in the NHS budget, also disproportionately affected less affluent areas. However, within the last five years, the report showed that COVID-19 had the biggest negative impact on life expectancy figures, whilst improvements in cancer treatment had the biggest positive impact.

Population projections for Scotland suggest that life expectancy will continue to rise to 83.4 years for women and 80.1 for men by 2045.

There were some positives to draw from the statistics, treatments for cancers and respiratory illnesses improved, which had a positive effect on life expectancy figures.