Headline evidence · Health · United Kingdom · 2011–13 to 2022–24

Britain is losing healthy years.

Expected years in good health fell to 60.7 for men and 60.9 for women in 2022–24, the lowest since the UK series began in 2011–13. Overall life expectancy has recovered since the pandemic. These are population estimates based partly on self-reported health.

Proposed outcome: Help people stay healthy for longer and reduce avoidable gaps in health. What could change →

Geography
United Kingdom
Evidence period
2022–24
Evidence status
Site calculation from published data
Editorial review
Reviewed 11 October 2026

The short version

Three key measures

  • Survey-based evidence
    ONS Annual Population Survey + population/mortality dataIncludes self-reported health; this is a combined population estimate, not a clinical diagnosis.

    How many years of life are spent in less than good health?

    22.1years (women)

    Expected years in less than good health for women; men have fewer. Health is partly measured through people’s own reports.

    United Kingdom · 2022–24 · Site calculation from published data

    Definition, limits and source: How many years of life are spent in less than good health?

    18.5 for men. Was 19.1 (women) and 16.3 (men) in 2011–13: 23% → 27% of a woman’s life expectancy and 21% → 23% of a man’s. Life expectancy minus healthy life expectancy (self-rated “very good” or “good” health), same period and geography.

    Site calculation from published data · ONS, Healthy life expectancy, UK: between 2011 to 2013 and 2022 to 2024, Dataset “Healthy life expectancy, UK”, Table 1

    Why healthy years fell →
  • Survey-based evidence
    ONS Annual Population Survey + population/mortality dataIncludes self-reported health; this is a combined population estimate, not a clinical diagnosis.

    How many years can a newborn expect in good health?

    60.7 / 60.9years (men / women)

    Expected healthy years for men and women. These estimates are uncertain and have fallen since the earlier period.

    United Kingdom · 2022–24

    Definition, limits and source: How many years can a newborn expect in good health?

    Down from 62.7 and 63.7 in 2011–13 — the lowest in the series. 95% confidence interval 60.5–60.9 (men). ONS labels these official statistics in development.

    Estimate · ONS, Healthy life expectancy, UK: between 2011 to 2013 and 2022 to 2024, Dataset “Healthy life expectancy, UK”, Table 1

    Healthy years in detail →

  • Do preventable heart and stroke deaths follow deprivation?

    nearly 4 timesthe rate in the least deprived areas

    Preventable heart and stroke deaths before 75 are much more common in poorer areas, even after allowing for age differences.

    England · 2022

    Definition, limits and source: Do preventable heart and stroke deaths follow deprivation?

    61.6 deaths per 100,000 under-75s in the most deprived tenth of neighbourhoods against 16.2 in the least deprived (age-standardised). England average 30.8.

    Published statistics · OHID, Public health profiles (Fingertips): under-75 mortality rate from cardiovascular disease considered preventable, Indicator 93722 (E04b), LSOA21 deprivation deciles

    Preventable illness →
Who feels this most?

Deprivation runs through every health measure on this page. In England’s most deprived tenth of areas, healthy life expectancy at birth is about 49.8 years for men and 48.2 for women, against 69.2 and 68.5 in the least deprived (2022 to 2024). Common mental health conditions follow the same gradient: 26.2% of adults in the most deprived fifth of areas against 16% in the least deprived (2023/4).

The evidence

Concern about NHS services is context, not a measure of population health or support for a prevention policy.

Annual data: Life and healthy years across available periods

The fixed 1996–2026 window shows only the comparable 2011–2013 to 2022–2024 series. Earlier and later blanks are missing, not zero. Healthy years use the re-estimated interim ONS method; this is a period measure, not a forecast for a newborn. A dash means no comparable observation is supplied; it is not zero. UK; rolling three-year periods are placed at their middle year. Adjacent periods overlap.

1996–2026; Years at birth. No change is calculated across definition or assessment breaks.

Life and healthy years across available periods; Years at birth
YearLife expectancy, menLife expectancy, womenHealthy years, menHealthy years, women
1996–2011No comparable observations supplied
20127982.862.763.7
201379.182.862.963.7
201479.182.86363.9
201579.282.96363.8
201679.282.863.163.8
201779.282.96363.8
201879.48362.963.5
20197982.862.863.7
202078.782.762.463.4
202178.682.66262.4
202278.882.861.361.6
202379.28360.760.9
2024–2026No comparable observations supplied

Prevention depends on reaching people and following up

The NAO’s November 2024 review found weak commissioning and targeting of NHS Health Checks. In 2023/24, fewer than half the annual eligible population attended. Limited follow-up data prevented routine assessment of health outcomes. This audit describes a delivery problem; it does not establish the effect of every check or current attendance.

NAO: progress in preventing cardiovascular disease

Longer lives, fewer healthy years

Survey-based evidence
ONS Annual Population Survey + population/mortality dataIncludes self-reported health; this is a combined population estimate, not a clinical diagnosis.

Are people living longer, and how much of that life is healthy?

Lifespans are back where they were; years in good health have fallen

United Kingdom (both panels) · 2011–13 to 2022–24

Life expectancy at birth

1996–2026 · recorded figures. Shading marks years without figures: this series starts in 2012.

YearsSeries starts 20128085axis does not start at 020002010202083.079.2

Healthy life expectancy at birth

1996–2026 · recorded figures. Shading marks years without figures: this series starts in 2012.

Years in good healthSeries starts 20126065axis does not start at 020002010202060.960.7

Both axes span ten years and neither starts at zero. Confidence intervals for the latest period are in the data table.

People are living about as long as before, but spending fewer years in good health. Healthy years are estimated partly from how people describe their own health.

United Kingdom (both panels) · 2011–13 to 2022–24 · Official statistics (life expectancy); official statistics in development (healthy life expectancy)

Show the workings — Lifespans are back where they were; years in good health have fallen

Left: life expectancy at birth. Right: healthy life expectancy at birth (years in “very good” or “good” self-reported health). United Kingdom, by sex, three-year periods 2011–13 to 2022–24. Both axes span ten years so slopes are comparable; neither starts at zero.

Life expectancy dipped during the pandemic and in 2022–24 is 79.2 years for men and 83.0 for women — within a few months of 2011–13. Healthy life expectancy did not recover: it fell from 62.7 to 60.7 years for men and from 63.7 to 60.9 for women. The gap between the two lines — years lived in less than good health — has widened to 18.5 (men) and 22.1 (women). Confidence intervals are narrow for life expectancy and wider for healthy life expectancy.

Geography:
United Kingdom (both panels) — Usual residents; deaths of non-residents excluded
Measure:
Years
Period:
2011–13 to 2022–24
Status:
Official statistics (life expectancy); official statistics in development (healthy life expectancy)
Calculation:
As published. Each point is a three-year average plotted at its middle year. Life expectancy from the ONS local-area series that ONS pairs with healthy life expectancy.
Compare with:
2011–13, the first period of the healthy life expectancy series
Not included / breaks:
Healthy life expectancy rests on people’s own rating of their health in the Annual Population Survey; it is not a clinical diagnosis. ONS re-estimated the whole series with an interim method because the survey’s sample has shrunk, which widens uncertainty. Periods overlap, so consecutive points are not independent.

Source: ONS, Healthy life expectancy, UK: between 2011 to 2013 and 2022 to 2024, Dataset “Healthy life expectancy, UK”, Table 1 (released 19 February 2026).

View the data as a table
PeriodLife expectancy, menLife expectancy, womenHealthy life expectancy, menHealthy life expectancy, women
2011–1379.082.862.763.7
2012–1479.182.862.963.7
2013–1579.182.863.063.9
2014–1679.282.963.063.8
2015–1779.282.863.163.8
2016–1879.282.963.063.8
2017–1979.483.062.963.5
2018–2079.082.862.863.7
2019–2178.782.762.463.4
2020–2278.682.662.062.4
2021–2378.882.861.361.6
2022–2479.2 (79.1–79.2)83.0 (83–83.1)60.7 (60.5–60.9)60.9 (60.7–61.2)

Scroll the table sideways to see every column.

Life expectancy is about how long people live; healthy life expectancy is about how many of those years people rate their own health as good. At the mortality and self-rated health rates measured in 2022–2024, a female newborn would have about 22 years in less than good health, and a male newborn about 19 — both more than in 2011–13. Women live longer than men but spend more of their lives in poorer health.

Years in good health have fallen across all four UK nations. The figures alone cannot explain why. Smaller survey samples and changes in measurement also make the size of the fall less certain.

Survey limits and possible causes

The fall is real but needs care in reading. ONS rebuilt the healthy-life series with an interim method because its survey sample has shrunk, and the pandemic still weighs on the latest period. The direction is consistent across all four UK nations and in most local areas. Why healthy years fell — more long-term conditions, more mental ill health, or people rating the same health more harshly — is not settled by this measure alone: see why healthy years fell.

Why it is happening

Our analysis

Health depends on homes, work, income and prevention as well as treatment. Many improvements take years to show, while their costs fall on services today.

Read the options, evidence and limits below.

Who is affected most

Who feels this most?

Does a preventable cause of early death follow deprivation?

Preventable heart and stroke deaths before 75 are nearly 4 times as common in the most deprived areas

England · 2022
Deaths per 100,000 under-75s, age-standardisedEngland average (30.8)
  • Most deprived tenth61.6
  • 2nd49.5
  • 3rd40.9
  • 4th34.3
  • 5th30.0
  • 6th26.3
  • 7th23.6
  • 8th21.0
  • 9th19.1
  • Least deprived tenth16.2

Preventable heart and stroke deaths are much more common in poorer areas. The comparison allows for different ages, but does not establish which causes explain the gap.

England · 2022 · Official statistics (OHID, from ONS death registrations)

Show the workings — Preventable heart and stroke deaths before 75 are nearly 4 times as common in the most deprived areas

Deaths under 75 from cardiovascular disease considered preventable, per 100,000 people aged under 75, directly age-standardised, by neighbourhood deprivation tenth (most deprived at top), England, 2022, persons.

The rate rises at every step from the least to the most deprived tenth of neighbourhoods, from 16.2 to 61.6 per 100,000. Because the rates are age-standardised, the gap is not explained by poorer areas having older or younger populations. Risk factors such as smoking are more common in deprived areas, but this chart does not measure causes. The confidence intervals for the most and least deprived tenths are far apart.

Geography:
England — Residents aged under 75, grouped by the deprivation decile of their small area (LSOA 2021)
Measure:
Deaths per 100,000, age-standardised to the 2013 European Standard Population
Period:
2022
Status:
Official statistics (OHID, from ONS death registrations)
Calculation:
As published by OHID. Ratio = most deprived ÷ least deprived (UK Facts calculation).
Compare with:
England average: 30.8 per 100,000
Not included / breaks:
“Preventable” follows the 2019 ONS/OECD definition: deaths that could mainly be avoided by public health and primary prevention; cardiovascular causes count at 50%. OHID says the LSOA decile figures are still to be revised for new population estimates. Area deprivation describes neighbourhoods, not individuals.

Source: OHID, Public health profiles (Fingertips): under-75 mortality rate from cardiovascular disease considered preventable, Indicator 93722 (E04b), LSOA21 deprivation deciles (released checked 3 October 2026).

View the data as a table
Deprivation tenthRate per 100,00095% confidence interval
Most deprived tenth61.659.2–64.1
2nd49.547.4–51.7
3rd40.939–42.9
4th34.332.6–36
5th30.028.5–31.5
6th26.324.9–27.7
7th23.622.3–24.9
8th21.019.8–22.3
9th19.118–20.3
Least deprived tenth16.215.2–17.3

These are comparisons between areas, not proof that deprivation alone causes ill health: income, work, housing, smoking and access to care all differ between places, and poor health can also reduce income. The full comparison is on the inequality page.

What could change

Proposals to consider. The bodies named below would need to agree to deliver them; responsibility is not a recorded commitment. Follow the links for costs and evidence.

  • Introduce minimum unit pricing for alcohol in England

    Set a minimum price for each unit of alcohol sold in England through new legislation.

    Who could deliver it: the health department, Parliament, public health and enforcement bodies.

    Main trade-off and delivery needs

    Dependence-related hardship; distribution of increased retail receipts.

    Choose price/indexation; consult; legislate; arrange enforcement and support for dependent drinkers; predefine evaluation.

    Cost: The extra cost is not yet known.

    Costs, drawbacks and evidence →

  • Build family hubs around what worked

    Use the successful features of Sure Start in family hubs, starting where access is poorest and testing results as services expand.

    Who could deliver it: education departments, councils and health partners in England.

    Main trade-off and delivery needs

    Thin provision; failure to reach families most in need; long benefit horizon.

    Specify service intensity and target reach; staff health/family services; measure uptake, fidelity and long-term outcomes.

    Cost: Only part of the cost has been estimated.

    Costs, drawbacks and evidence →

  • Test mental-health support in schools

    Test whether school mental-health support improves children’s lives, with a route to specialist care for greater needs.

    Who could deliver it: Education and health commissioners, schools and providers.

    Main trade-off and delivery needs

    Over-referral, unmet specialist demand and inappropriate intervention.

    Specify intervention and referral threshold; secure qualified staff and escalation to specialist care; evaluate outcomes.

    Cost: The extra cost is not yet known.

    Costs, drawbacks and evidence →

  • Get effective depression treatment to adults missing out

    Help adults missing out on suitable depression treatment get care, with specialist support when needed.

    Who could deliver it: NHS commissioners and providers; jurisdiction-specific.

    Main trade-off and delivery needs

    The main risks still need to be assessed.

    Verify unmet clinical need and commissioned care; cost therapists, supervision, triage, follow-up and escalation; monitor symptoms, functioning, deterioration and access. Proposed owners: NHS commissioners and providers; jurisdiction-specific.

    Cost: The extra cost is not yet known.

    Costs, drawbacks and evidence →

See all options and what is still unknown →

Some problems have no assessed solution yet: see coverage and gaps.

Domain SWOT

Recorded

Show the findings
Strengths · 2 findings

  • Early deaths from preventable causes have fallen a long way before: preventable heart and stroke deaths before 75 fell by 57% from 2001 to 2019 (29.4 per 100,000 in 2024).

    England · 2001–2024

  • A prevention policy has been evaluated inside the UK: after Scotland set a minimum price per unit of alcohol, deaths wholly attributable to alcohol fell 13.4% relative to England.

    Scotland (England as control) · May 2018 to December 2020

Weaknesses · 7 findings

  • The NAO found weak commissioning and targeting of NHS Health Checks. Fewer than half the annual eligible population attended in 2023/24, and follow-up data were insufficient for routine assessment of health outcomes. These are audit-period findings, not current attendance or proof that every check prevents illness.

    England · 2023/24; November 2024 audit

  • Healthy life expectancy at birth fell from 62.7 to 60.7 years for men and from 63.7 to 60.9 for women.

    United Kingdom · 2011–13 to 2022–24

  • Preventable heart and stroke deaths before 75 were 61.6 per 100,000 in the most deprived tenth of areas against 16.2 in the least deprived.

    England · 2022

  • 25.8% of 16–24-year-olds had a common mental health condition in 2023/4, against 17.5% in 2007.

    England · 2007 to 2023/4

  • Alcohol-specific deaths in England were 13.8 per 100,000 people in 2024. The rate fell on 2023, but across the UK it was still 14.8 against 11.8 in 2019, and within England it ranged from 10.9 in London to 21.1 in the North East.

    England (comparison: United Kingdom) · Deaths registered in 2024 (UK comparison: 2019)

  • About half of adults with symptoms of a common mental health condition were receiving any treatment in 2023/4 (47.7% of 16–74-year-olds; 17.9% psychological therapy). In NHS Talking Therapies, 40.7% of people finishing treatment in the most deprived tenth of areas reliably recovered in 2025–26, against 52.7% in the least deprived.

    England · 2023/4 (survey); 2025–26 (service data)

  • Smoking is concentrated in routine and manual work: 16.6% of adults aged 18–64 in routine and manual occupations smoked in 2025, against 5.9% in managerial and professional jobs. Stop smoking services recorded 265,502 quit dates in 2025–26, below the around 360,000 a year the 2023 plan expected.

    England · 2025 (prevalence); 2025–26 (services)

Opportunities · 1 finding

  • Prevention with tested evidence — a floor price for alcohol, early-years help where access is weakest — could reach deprived areas most: in Scotland the largest estimated falls in alcohol deaths were in the 40% most deprived areas, an exploratory result. Neither has been shown to close the wider gap in early deaths.

    Depends on: Each is designed, funded and evaluated against a comparison in England; results measured in Scotland or in the 2000s are evidence on the mechanism, not forecasts.

    our synthesis

Threats · 3 findings

  • School mental health teams are being rolled out to every school by 2029–30 without a published measure of what they change for children, so a national service could be complete before anyone knows whether it works.

    risk

  • Healthy life expectancy rests on a shrinking survey and an interim ONS method, so a real change of a few months may not be detectable for years.

    risk

  • Hot summers already cost lives: UKHSA estimated 1,504 heat-associated deaths in England in summer 2025 (677 of them in care homes) and 2,985 in 2022, and an interim 2,877 in the May and June 2026 heatwaves alone; the Climate Change Committee warns heat-related deaths could exceed 10,000 in an average year by 2050 as the population ages.

    England (projection: UK) · Summers 2022 to 2025; projection to 2050 · risk

See the whole-UK SWOT →

Domain action plan

Proposed

Possible steps for government and the bodies responsible. These describe the order of work, not promised dates: starting an action and seeing results take different amounts of time.

  1. Short term · prepare

    Identify preventable harm and people missing effective support.

  2. Medium term · deliver

    Expand the linked treatment and prevention options where capacity allows.

  3. Long term · judge results

    Track healthier lives and whether gaps between groups narrow.

Delivery steps and owners (7)
  1. Prerequisite: Model an English floor price and publish an impact assessment · DHSC with the Home Office · proposed
  2. Prerequisite: Fix the order of the remaining school roll-out and the outcome measures to compare · NHS England with DfE · proposed
  3. Decision: Legislate for a minimum unit price with a review clause · Parliament · proposed
  4. Delivery: Specify and fund early-years services where access is weakest · Councils with DfE and DHSC · proposed
  5. Result: Mental Health Support Teams in every school · NHS England and DfE · By 2029–30 (Spending Review 2025)
  6. Prerequisite: Publish Talking Therapies completion and recovery by board and deprivation decile · NHS England · proposed
  7. Delivery: Outreach with effective stop-smoking treatment for routine and manual workers, with comparison councils · Councils with DHSC · proposed

Sources, method and changes

Sources and methods (5)

Method notes

  • Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy are period measures: they apply current death rates and health reports to a hypothetical newborn. They are not forecasts of how long anyone will live.
  • Healthy life expectancy uses self-reported general health. ONS designates the latest release official statistics in development because Annual Population Survey samples have fallen.
  • Life expectancy here comes from ONS’s local-area tables (five-year age bands), which ONS pairs with healthy life expectancy. The National life tables use single years of age and can differ by about 0.1 year.
  • UK figures are used for the headline; deprivation and mental health figures cover England only. Each chart states its geography.