UK life expectancy plummets in global rankings

While life expectancy has risen since the start of the study, other countries have seen larger increases

About 70 years ago, life expectancy in the UK was one of the longest in the world, ranking seventh globally. It ranked 29th in 2021. PA

Life expectancy in the UK has slipped down the global rankings, new analysis has shown.

About 70 years ago, life expectancy in the UK was one of the longest in the world, ranking seventh globally behind countries such as Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

But the UK came in at 29th in 2021, according to the new analysis, which was published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.

Academics from the University of Oxford and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine examined global life expectancy ratings from 1952 to 2021.

They found that, over seven decades, the UK has done worse than all G7 countries except the US.

While life expectancy has increased since the start of the study, similar countries have seen larger increases, the experts said.

The authors said that the fall down the ranks has been decades in the making and includes a rise in income inequality in the UK during and after the 1980s.

“That rise also saw an increase in the variation in life expectancy between different social groups,” said Martin McKee, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

“One reason why the overall increase in life expectancy has been so sluggish in the UK is that in recent years, it has fallen for poorer groups.”

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“The rankings show that the only G7 country to do worse than the UK is the USA,” said Lucinda Hiam, of the University of Oxford.

On the current cost-of-living crisis, Dr Hiam added: “In the short term, the government has an acute crisis to address.

“However, a relative worsening of population health is evidence that all is not well.

“It has historically been an early sign of severe political and economic problems.

“This new analysis suggests that the problems the UK faces are deep-seated and raises serious questions about the path that this country is following”.