Stark gaps in UK life expectancy between north, south, rich and poor

Men in south-east England live four years longer than Scots, while London’s richest outlive Glasgwegians by decade or more A four-year north-south divide in life expectancy at birth for men is revealed in official figures for the UK published on Wednesday. For men in the south-east of England it is 79.4 years, while in Scotland the figure is 75.4, according to the Office for National Statistics . For women the gap is slightly less: 83.3 in south-east and south-west England against 80.1 in Scotland. But the differences are even more stark at a local level. In the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea, men stand to live 84.4 years and women 89 years. That is more than a decade longer than the Glasgow figure of 71.1 years for men and 77.5 for women. Health areas with lowest life expectancy are Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Hartlepool, Western Isles, Liverpool and Blackburn with Darwen. The pattern in the geographic age gaps remains similar to those of previous years, showing just how stubborn social and economic inequalities remain. Overall we are living longer. Life expectancy at birth across the UK as a whole improved from 76.5 to 77.9 years for men between 2003-05 and 2007-09. In the same period it went up from 80.9 to 82 for women. Office for National Statistics Scotland James Meikle guardian.co.uk

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