Life expectancy figures show big differences, experts say

Men in Scotland can now expect to live until 73, but the gap between the highest and lowest areas for life expectancy is also increasing.

Men in Glasgow would be lucky to reach 70, while in East Dunbartonshire they can expect to live to 77.

Life expectancy is now 73.8 years for men and 79 for women, compared to 71.7 years and 77.4 in the early 1990s, the Registrar General said.

Research showed that the difference between men and women has narrowed over the past decade from 5.7 years to 5.2 years.

Aberdeenshire has the longest life expectancy for women. At 80.8 years, it is nearly four-and-a-half years longer than Glasgow.

'Large differences'

Male life expectancy in the city is 69.3 years, compared to 76.5% in Orkney, and it is where women also have the shortest lives.

The gap between the highest and lowest areas for male life expectancy has increased from 6.8 years to 7.7 years.

Registrar General Duncan Macniven said: "While it is encouraging that peoples' life expectancy at birth across Scotland is increasing, there are still large differences between areas."