What is the life expectancy in the UK?

The ONS national life tables, published 10 December 2025, put life expectancy at birth in the UK at 79.1 years for males and 83.0 years for females in 2022 to 2024. Female life expectancy was back at its 2017 to 2019 level; male life expectancy was slightly below it.

These are period figures: they assume today's death rates apply for a person's whole life, so they are not a forecast of how long a baby born now will live. Cohort figures, which allow for future improvements, are higher. Healthy life expectancy, the years expected in "good" health, was 60.7 years for males and 60.9 for females in 2022 to 2024, the lowest since that series began in 2011 to 2013.

Life expectancy varies widely between areas; see life expectancy in your area.

Official sources: ONS national life tables, UK · ONS healthy life expectancy, UK

The latest figure

The newest value is at Office for National Statistics (ONS). More on it: Deaths registered in England and Wales.

When is the next figure out?

Annual. A first summary (Death registration summary statistics) appears in late May and the full release in the autumn; the 2025 full release was published on 25 September 2026. The .xlsx file name changes each year

Every official release due in the next two weeks is on the release calendar.

Terms used in this answer

• Age-standardised rate
  A rate adjusted to a standard population age structure, so that places or years with older or younger populations can be compared fairly.
• Cohort
  A group of people who share a starting point, such as being born in the same year or starting school together, followed over time.
• Healthy life expectancy
  The average number of years a person can expect to live in good health, based on current death rates and people's own rating of their health.
• Crude rate
  A rate calculated by dividing events by the whole population, with no adjustment for differences in age structure between places or over time.
• Rate per 100,000
  The number of events divided by the population and multiplied by 100,000, so areas of different sizes can be compared on a like-for-like basis.
• Calendar year
  January to December. Used for GDP annual totals, registered deaths and many international comparisons, unlike the April to March financial year.

Where the figures come from

• UK population and vital statistics (ONS, National Records of Scotland and NISRA)
  Where to find official UK figures on births, fertility, baby names, marriage, divorce, households, population estimates, projections and the census.
• UK deaths, life expectancy and public health statistics (ONS, OHID, UKHSA, NRS, NISRA)
  Where to find official UK figures on deaths, excess deaths, life expectancy, causes of death, suicide, drug and alcohol deaths and vaccination.

Related questions

• How do I find life expectancy in my area?
• How many people die in the UK each year?
• What is the leading cause of death in the UK?

This answer says where the official figures are published and how they are defined. It gives no verdict on any claim. To report an error, send a correction request. More questions about deaths, life expectancy and public health: all Deaths, life expectancy and public health questions.