Life expectancy in England reached an all-time high in 2025, with men and women living on average 80 and nearly 84 years respectively, according to provisional figures cited by the King’s Fund. However, these gains were concentrated overwhelmingly in southern regions, while northern parts of the country saw minimal improvement.
London’s life expectancy rose by nearly a year in the decade to 2023-25, and the south-east, south-west, and east of England also recorded gains. By contrast, the half of England’s population residing in five northern regions—the north-west, north-east, Yorkshire and the Humber, West Midlands, and East Midlands—experienced little or no rise in life expectancy during the same period. Regional disparities have become stark, with people in London now expected to live three years longer than those in the north-east. At the local level, disparities are even more pronounced, with life expectancy in Blackpool, Lancashire, being 10 years shorter for men and eight years shorter for women compared to Hart, Hampshire.
Healthy life expectancy, measuring years spent in good health, fell across all regions of England in the decade to 2022-24. People now spend on average about 2.5 years longer in poor health. The regional divide in healthy life expectancy remains at approximately six to seven years but can reach 20 years between the most and least deprived regions. In the most deprived 30 percent of areas, life expectancy either fell or failed to improve over the past decade, a pattern reflecting greater levels of deprivation and higher incidence of heart disease, cancer, suicides, and deaths related to alcohol and drug misuse in these regions.
The government’s 10-year health plan aims to increase healthy life expectancy for everyone in England while halving the gap between the richest and poorest. However, the King’s Fund characterized this goal as “unrealistic,” requiring population health improvements at a scale not achieved in decades. Officials noted that current policy focuses primarily on reducing waiting lists rather than preventing ill health, and highlighted concerns about rising obesity and increasing ill health in working-age adults.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson acknowledged the challenge’s scale and complexity, noting that £2.2bn is being repurposed for critical resources in deprived areas, including medicines and medical equipment. The government stated it is taking action through fairer GP funding allocation and neighborhood health centers while planning to devolve additional power to local communities.
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