Age Scotland responds to provisional life expectancy figures

New figures from National Records for Scotland reveal a decrease in life expectancy by 3 weeks for males and 5.7 weeks for females since 2019-2021, with the majority of council areas recording a fall in life expectancy in recent years.

Age Scotland’s Head of Policy and Communications, Adam Stachura, said:

“These figures are cause for concern, marking the third consecutive year of decreasing life expectancy in Scotland.

“The Covid-19 pandemic had a significant impact on life expectancy, with older people most at risk, but these figures were already stalling in the years leading up to the pandemic.

“Factors linked to poverty may contribute to a further reduction in life expectancy in the future, such as the number of people struggling to heat their homes to a comfortable level and the increasing cost of essentials such as food.

“Given the devastating link between income levels and overall life expectancy and the difficulty many people experience when accessing healthcare and social care, it’s becoming increasingly difficult to see how this trend can be reversed without first addressing these underlying issues.

“With an ageing population and our latest research revealing a disheartening downturn in older people feeling valued by society, there is a long way to go to make Scotland the best place to grow older. Increasing both life expectancy and healthy life expectancy is a key part of this.”