Life Expectancy and Healthy Life Expectancy

Life expectancy (LE) at birth has been used as a measure of the health status of the population in England and Wales since the 1840s. It was employed in some of the earliest reports of the Registrar General to illustrate the differences in mortality experienced by populations in different parts of the country. The tradition of using life expectancy as an indicator of geographic inequalities in health has been continued by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) since 2001, with the publication of sub-national life expectancy statistics. Period life expectancy at a given age for an area is the average number of years a person would live, if he or she experienced the particular area age-specific mortality rates for that time period throughout his or her life.

Many studies have shown that geographical variations in life expectancy can largely be accounted for by individual and area-based deprivation. The Marmot Review 10 Years On, published in 2020, shows for the first time in more than 100 years life expectancy has failed to increase across the country, and for the poorest 10% of women it has actually declined. Over the last decade health inequalities have widened overall, and the amount of time people spend in poor health has increased since 2010.This means people in poorer areas not only die sooner, but they will also spend more of their lives living with a long-term health condition or disability. For society to have a healthy population it is essential to take action to both raise the general level of health and flatten the social gradient.

Key findings: life expectancy at birth

Unless stated otherwise, the figures below refer to the 2023-25 period – data for this period is currently based on provisional mortality and population data.

• In Lancashire-12, life expectancy at birth (LE) for males (78.7 years) is significantly worse compared to England (79.7). Both Blackburn with Darwen (76.6) and Blackpool (74.2) are also significantly worse compared to England, with Blackpool having the lowest male LE in the country (when ranked against all County and UAs). 

• At a district level, only Ribble Valley (81.2 years) and West Lancashire (80.7 years) had a significantly better male LE when compared to England. South Ribble (80.1 years) and Fylde (79.7 years) were statistically similar to England whilst the 8 remaining districts have LEs that were significantly lower than England ranging from 78.9 years in Chorley to 76.5 years in Burnley. 

• For females, there is a similar picture, with LE at birth significantly worse in Lancashire-12 (82.5 years), Blackburn with Darwen (80.6), and Blackpool (79.3), when compared to England (83.5 years). Blackpool has the lowest female LE in the country (when ranked against all County and UAs). 

• For females, at district level, only Ribble Valley (85.2 years) and South Ribble (84.6 years) have a significantly higher LE when compared with England. Fylde has a statistically similar rate to England (83.9 years) whilst the remaining 9 districts have female LEs that are statically lower than the England LE, these range from 82.8 years in Wyre to 80.2 years in Hyndburn.

Key findings: Life expectancy at 65 years

Unless stated otherwise, the figures below refer to the 2023-2025 period – data for this period is currently based on provisional mortality and population data.

Life expectancy at 65 is the average number of years a person would expect to live based on contemporary mortality rates. 

• In Lancashire-12, life expectancy at 65 years for males (18.6 years) is significantly lower when compared to England (19.1). Blackburn with Darwen (17.1) and Blackpool (16.7) also have a significantly lower life expectancy at 65.

• At district level, only males in Ribble Valley (20.5 years) and South Ribble (19.6 years) have a significantly higher LE at 65 compared to England. 7 of Lancashire's districts have a significantly lower LE at 65 when compared with England, these are Lancaster, Chorley, Pendle, Rossendale, Preston, Hyndburn, Burnley, ranging from 18.3 years to 17.3 years. 

• In Lancashire-12, life expectancy at 65 years for females (20.8 years) is significantly lower than England (21.5). Blackburn with Darwen and Blackpool are each estimated to have a female LE at 65 of 19.5 years which is also significantly lower than England.

• Observing the districts, as seen for males, females in Ribble Valley (22.7) and South Ribble (22.3 years) have a significantly higher LE at 65 compared to England. Meanwhile, in 8 other districts (West Lancashire, Chorley, Pendle, Rossendale, Lancaster, Preston, Burnley, Hyndburn) it is significantly lower than England ranging from 20.7 years to 19.2 years.

Key findings: Inequality in life expectancy

• The slope index of inequality (SII) measures inequalities in Life Expectancy at birth within local authorities and represents the range in years, of life expectancy, and measures the gradient in LE across the most to least deprived small areas. 

• Data from 2022-24, for males, this figure is 11.8 years in the Lancashire-12 area, 10.6 years in Blackburn with Darwen and 13.8 years in Blackpool (England 10.4). For females the SII is 9.1 years in Lancashire-12, 11.1 years in Blackburn with Darwen and 9.2 years in Blackpool (England 8.0 years).

• These data show that for Lancashire, as is observed for England, male life expectancy is impacted more by the social gradient of deprivation than female life expectancy with a 2.7 year difference between the groups.

• Within Lancashire's districts Lancaster and Wyre have the largest SII for males at 14.2 years whilst Hyndburn's is greatest for females (10.9 years). Lancaster and Preston both sit in the worst quintile for Inequality in life expectancy at birth measure for both males and females.

• For males, the SII in Life expectancy at 65 for the period 2022-24 is 6.4 years for Lancashire-12; for Blackburn with Darwen it is 6.7 years and Blackpool it is 4.6 years (England 5.5). For females Lancashire-12s SII at 65 is 5.3 years vs 3.8 in Blackpool and 8.5 in Blackburn with Darwen, in England the SII is 4.8 years. Of the districts Hyndburn sits in the worst quintile for inequality in life expectancy at 65 in both males and females.

 For county, district and unitary data and further information please see below.