UK men and women can expect to live longer, data show

Boys born in the UK in 2023 can expect to live on average to the age of 86.7, and girls to 90, latest data suggest.

The Office for National Statistics (ONS) says figures show a continued trend of longer life expectancy for men and women.

The survival gap between the sexes is narrowing, partly down to men leading healthier lifestyles, experts say.

Projections suggest more than one in 10 boys and one in six girls born in 2023 will live to at least 100 years old.

The ONS report is based on the most up-to-date survival figures for 2023, and makes predictions for the future based on trends and projections.

For example, one in four baby girls and nearly one in five baby boys born in 2047 might expect to live to 100.

Overall, men born in 2047 could have a life expectancy of 89.3 years, and women 92.2 years.

The estimates could change though, and the life expectancy figures are for populations – they do not mean that each individual person will live into old age.

Men aged 65 years in the UK in 2023 can expect to live, on average, a further 19.8 years. For women who were 65 in 2023, the figure is 22.5 more years of life.

Projections suggest that by 2047, this could to rise to 21.8 more years of life for 65-year-old men and 24.4 more years for mid-60s women.

Kerry Gadsdon from the ONS said the statistics show that the life expectancy gap between men and women is closing, and has been for decades.

“This is likely due to improvements in lifestyle, for example reduction in smoking rates and the working conditions of men over several decades, as well as advances in healthcare, for example the prevention and treatment of heart disease. The gap is projected to be down to 2.5 years by 2072.”