Life expectancy in Scotland increases to pre-pandemic levels

The life expectancy of both men and women in Scotland has increased and is now similar to pre-pandemic levels, official figures show.

The average life expectancy for the 2022 to 2024 period was 77.12 years for men and 81.06 years for women, according to the National Records of Scotland (NRS).

This is an increase of almost 18 weeks for men and almost 14 weeks for women, compared to the average for the 2021 to 2023 period.

The NRS said life expectancy between Scotland's most and least deprived areas "remains significant".

NRS data shows wide geographical variations in life expectancy across the country.

East Renfrewshire was found to have the longest life expectancy in Scotland with 84.9 years for women and 81.5 years for men.

Meanwhile, Glasgow City was found to have the shortest - 78.7 years for women and 74.3 years for men.

People living in rural areas were also found to have a longer life expectancy than those in urban areas.

The difference between the most rural and most urban areas was 2.6 years for women and 2.9 years for men.

Deprivation plays a major role in the life expectancy of Scotland's population.

The life expectancy gap between the most and least deprived areas of the country was 13.2 years for men and 10.5 years for women.

Overall, life expectancy for both men and women was found to increase as deprivation decreased.

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 the UK life expectancy has also increased.

Additional figures published by the Office for National Statistics show the UK life expectancy was 83 years for women and 79.1 years for men - a rise of 18 weeks for women and 21 weeks for men since 2019 to 2021.

However, life expectancy for both men and women in Scotland remained the lowest out of all four UK countries.

In comparison to the rest of Europe, life expectancy in Scotland was also found to be lower than some countries, especially in relation to other Western European nations.