Life Expectancy in England Has Been Dropping Since Before the Pandemic

The recent pandemic has been a scary and uncertain time and has forced many people to evaluate their own mortality. A deadly disease that has claimed many lives can certainly wreak havoc on death statistics, and especially on life expectancy for people living in the most affected areas. England is now coming out the other end of the pandemic, with many countries now adding the whole of the U.K. onto their safe travel lists, but the prospects for long life for its residents may not improve. This is because, despite advancements in medicine and an apparent improvement in the standard of living, life expectancy for people in England has been steadily dropping over the last decade.

The research I conducted on life expectancy was taken from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which used mortality data from 2001-2020 to predict the life expectancy for people of all ages each year. This data was collected before the pandemic, and so this information does not take into account the effects of covid-19. In order to make the results more immediate and relatable to myself, I chose to compare the information for a female born in 1999 (my own age and gender) with that of somebody born in 2020, to see how much the country had changed in my lifespan. In England overall, the life expectancy for a female born in 1999 is 84.57 years, but that for a female born in 2020 is only 83.14 years. This is a reduction of more than a full year, which might not sound like a lot, but for a developed country, it is not the trend that we should be seeing. Every region in England saw a similar decrease, with differences between 1 and 2 years.

So why has life expectancy gone down? Experts are surprised and confused as to why this has been happening, as the general health of U.K. residents appears to have risen recently. However, upon further investigation, it seems it is not so much health, but the quality of life of the least fortunate in society that has contributed the most. In the last ten years, poverty rates (the number of people who earn below 60% of the median income for the year) have been rising, both for adults and children, and government spending on the welfare system has been decreasing. This means that a lot of people have not been able to afford the things that keep them happy and healthy, for example, food for the optimum diet or adequate heating in their homes, which has led to a shortening of their lives. Also, the claims that British health has been improving are not true in all areas. Every year, the average BMI for all ages and genders in the country has increased, as have cases of diabetes that are diagnosed each year. These problems have been known to shorten a person’s life, whether that is directly or through causing other life-limiting conditions.

Perhaps the most disturbing aspect of England’s life expectancy is the inequality between regions, and particularly the North/South divide in the country. The average life expectancy for a female born in 2020 in the South of England is 85.52, whereas in the North it is only 81.97. It is staggering to think that somebody born at exactly the same time could expect such a difference in lifespan just because of the place they are born, but the most likely reason for this is the distribution of wealth in the country. The three regions with the lowest life expectancies are all in the North of England, and they are Knowsley, with an average life expectancy of 79.87 years, Stoke-on-Trent with an average of 79.71, and Blackpool with an average of 78.99. The average income for these three regions is £20,552, £25,000, and £24,000 a year respectively. In comparison, the three regions with the highest life expectancies, which are all in the South of England, are Westminster, with an average expectancy of 87.08 and a yearly salary of £32,000, Camden, with an expectancy of 87.73 and salary of £32,000, and Kensington and Chelsea, with an expectancy of 87.86 and salary of £37,056. With a difference of 8.87 years of life and £13,056 yearly salary between the highest and lowest life expectancy regions, it is clear to see that money is one of the biggest driving factors behind a long life.

This embarrassing realization for a country that has always thought itself to be among the elite of the world will hopefully be a wake-up call for the people in charge. Evidently, more effort needs to be put into looking after the health and wellbeing of its residents, as well as a better distribution of money and services between the north and south of the country and more help for the less fortunate in society. We do not want to get another ten years into the future and see that life expectancy has fallen by another year or two, so action needs to be taken now to ensure that prospects for English people from all backgrounds improve.