UK Healthy Life Expectancy Falls 2+ Years in Decade

A new study by the Health Foundation has revealed that healthy life expectancy in the United Kingdom has declined by more than two years over the past decade, dropping below the state pension age of 66 in most areas and signaling a reversal in population health compared to other high-income nations.

The analysis, based on Office for National Statistics data from 2012-2014 to 2022-2024, shows healthy life expectancy fell from 62.9 years to 60.7 years for men and from 63.7 years to 60.9 years for women. Healthy life expectancy measures the average years lived in good health, free from limiting illness, disability or cognitive decline, using mortality rates and self-reported health surveys. This means men now spend 77 percent of their lives in good health, down from 79 percent, while women spend 73 percent, down from 77 percent.

In an international comparison of 21 high-income countries, the UK ranks 20th, ahead only of the United States, and recorded the second-steepest decline between 2011 and 2021. It is one of just five nations where the metric worsened, while others like Japan, Norway and Sweden saw steady gains. More than 90 percent of UK areas now see people begin...