Health inequality in the UK
Not everyone will live to the same age and not everyone will enjoy equally good health throughout their life.
It is not the existence of health inequalities that matters most but what is happening to the gap between the richest and poorest in society in terms of health and life expectancy.
Socio-economic inequalities
Health inequalities are most significant between the richest and poorest in society and the parts of Scotland (and the UK) in which these people live.
For example, 2020-2022, National Records of Scotland reported that average life expectancy was highest in鈥疎ast Renfrewshire鈥痑t 84.0 years for females and in East Dunbartonshire at 79.9 years for males. On the other hand, average life expectancy was lowest in Glasgow City where it was 72.9 years for males and 78.2 years for females.
Overall, for males in 2019-2021, there were 13.7 years difference between the most and least deprived areas of Scotland. For females the difference was 10.5 years. Over the last few years this gap has widened between the least and most deprived areas of Scotland.
Life expectancy rates also vary across the UK
| Country | Male life expectancy (2018-2020) | Female life expectancy (2018-2020) |
| England | 79.3 | 83.1 |
| N.Ireland | 78.6 | 82.3 |
| Scotland | 76.7 | 81.0 |
| Wales | 78.2 | 82.0 |
| Country | England |
|---|---|
| Male life expectancy (2018-2020) | 79.3 |
| Female life expectancy (2018-2020) | 83.1 |
| Country | N.Ireland |
|---|---|
| Male life expectancy (2018-2020) | 78.6 |
| Female life expectancy (2018-2020) | 82.3 |
| Country | Scotland |
|---|---|
| Male life expectancy (2018-2020) | 76.7 |
| Female life expectancy (2018-2020) | 81.0 |
| Country | Wales |
|---|---|
| Male life expectancy (2018-2020) | 78.2 |
| Female life expectancy (2018-2020) | 82.0 |
Another widely used measure of health inequalities is in terms of Healthy Life Expectancy (HLE).HLE is based on people鈥檚 self-reported experiences of good health.
In 2022, National Records of Scotland reported that people in the most deprived communities in Scotland were spending more than a third of their lives in poor health, compared to people in the least deprived areas who spent 15% of their lives in poor health.
How does gender impact health inequality?
Significant health inequalities also exist between men and women. For example, average life expectancy in Scotland was 76.5 years for males and 80.7 years for females in 2020-2022.
How does ethnicity impact inequality?
There is some limited evidence that some people from ethnic minority backgrounds experience poorer health and have lower life expectancy then the majority White population. The figures vary considerably within ethnic minority groups.
The Scottish Public Health Observatory reported in 2023, that average life expectancy was now lowest for the majority White Scottish population but higher for most ethnic groups in Scotland.