Life expectancy for the young and over-65s rises sharply in the capital

Young people and those aged over 65 in the capital have seen the sharpest rise in the country. A boy born in London in 2011-13 can expect to live 6.7 years longer than if he had been born 20 years ago. Similarly, life expectancy for baby girls in London is now 4.8 years longer. Life expectancy at birth for girls  in 2011-13 was highest in London, at 84.1 years, leapfrogging the South-East, the South-West and the Eastern region compared with four years ago.

The rise in the capital since 2007-09 was 1.2 years, while for men it was 1.5 years, to 80. For men aged 65, life expectancy was highest in Harrow, at 21.1 years, and lowest in Manchester, at 16. While for women at age 65, life expectancy was highest in Camden — 24 years — and lowest in Halton in north-west England, at 18.8.

The Office for National Statistics figures do not identify any reasons for the increasing longevity of people in the capital. But factors could include London’s growing wealth compared with other regions, improvements in air quality, changing lifestyles with people adopting healthier habits, and population movements.

The number of people reaching  the age of 100 is also set to soar in  Britain. However, the ageing population is also putting an increasing strain on the NHS, which faces having to save billions of pounds to avoid drastic cuts to patient care Life expectancy for boys born in 2011-13 was highest in South Cambridgeshire, at 83 years, almost nine years longer than in Blackpool, which at of 74.3 had the lowest figure.

For newborn girls, life expectancy was highest in the Buckinghamshire district of Chiltern. At 86.4 years, it  was more than six years longer than the lowest figure of 80, in Manchester.

The inequality in life expectancy between the local areas with the highest figures, and those that have the lowest, increased for newborn boys. But it fell for girls over the four-year period.