Wealthy Britons Live 20 Healthier Years Longer Than Poorest, UK Health Foundation Study Reveals

Growing Disparity in UK Healthy Life Expectancy

A new report from the Health Foundation reveals a stark and widening gap in healthy life expectancy across the United Kingdom. Individuals residing in the wealthiest areas can expect to live up to 20 years longer in good health compared to those in the poorest communities.

The study, spanning the decade from 2012–14 to 2022–24, also indicates a concerning two-year decrease in the average healthy life expectancy across the UK. This decline, the independent charity stated, imposes a significant economic cost.

Healthy life expectancy, defined as the estimated years spent in good health based on self-reported well-being and mortality data, has seen its greatest divergence between affluent and deprived areas over this period. Furthermore, the analysis concluded that the UK maintains the second-lowest healthy life expectancy among high-income nations, a group encompassing Western Europe, Nordic countries, North America, and Oceania.

Andrew Mooney, a principal data analyst at the Health Foundation, highlighted contributing factors, noting, "The UK has the highest levels of obesity in western Europe and there has been a surge in mental ill health, especially among young people." This public health crisis, he added, has substantial economic ramifications, pushing people out of the workforce and hindering young people's access to education, employment, and training.

Data from the Office for National Statistics, alongside international comparisons using World Health Organisation figures, informed the study. Authors cited poor housing, obesity, and the broader effects of deprivation, compounded by the Covid pandemic, as factors driving this trend. While overall life expectancy remained stable, the duration of healthy years declined significantly.

Specifically, men in England's least deprived areas averaged 69.2 healthy years at birth in 2022-2024, with 14.4 years in ill health. Women in these areas had 68.5 healthy years and 17.9 in ill health. Conversely, men in the most deprived areas experienced just 49.8 healthy years and 23.4 in poor health, while women averaged 48.2 healthy years and 30.1 in ill health. This disparity in healthy life expectancy between wealthier and poorer regions has grown since 2013-2015.

Among 21 high-income countries, the UK exhibited the second steepest decline in healthy life expectancy between 2011 and 2021, with only the United States recording a lower average.