Despite advances in overall life expectancy in England, significant regional inequalities persist, with people in Birmingham and the West Midlands continuing to die earlier than those in southern England. Recent analysis by the King’s Fund highlights that the life expectancy gap has not only endured but widened over the last decade.
In 2025, life expectancy reached record highs nationally; however, these improvements were not evenly distributed. For example, London residents live on average three years longer than those in the North East, a disparity largely linked to higher deprivation levels in northern regions.
The King’s Fund warns that the Government’s ambitious goals to increase healthy life expectancy across England and halve the gap between the richest and poorest areas may be unachievable without unprecedented improvements in public health.
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Northern England — including the North East, North West, Yorkshire and The Humber, and the East and West Midlands — continues to have the lowest life expectancy, covering nearly half the population. The decade leading up to 2023-25 saw little to no improvement in these areas, while southern regions like London, the South East, South West, and East of England enjoyed rising life expectancy figures, despite London’s notable pandemic-related drop.
Healthy life expectancy, which measures years lived in good health, is declining nationwide, having dropped by approximately 2.5 years in the decade to 2022-24. Stark disparities exist between deprived and affluent areas: men in the least deprived 10% of English neighborhoods can expect to live about ten years longer than those in the most deprived 10%, with an eight-year difference for women. The gap in healthy life expectancy is even more severe, reaching up to twenty years, meaning those in deprived communities experience shorter lives with more years spent in poor health.
Further analysis comparing London and the North East reveals higher rates of premature deaths in the North East due to heart disease, cancer, suicide, and deaths related to alcohol and drug misuse.
Currently, the UK ranks near the bottom among high-income countries for life expectancy, surpassed only by Germany and the US.
Veena Raleigh, senior fellow at the King’s Fund, expressed concern: “The lack of progress in longevity for northern and deprived communities, contrasted with health gains in wealthier southern areas, is a stark injustice in an affluent nation. Tackling these disparities is crucial not only for social equity but also to alleviate NHS pressures and reduce economic costs linked to ill health.”
Raleigh calls for bold, cross-governmental strategies focused on prevention and addressing key causes of preventable illnesses, including cardiovascular disease, diabetes, poor diet, smoking, and alcohol consumption. She stresses that one of the Government’s core health objectives—a shift from treating sickness to promoting prevention—has yet to see sufficient action.
A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson emphasized the Government’s commitment to reducing health inequalities: “No one’s postcode should determine their lifespan. We are prioritizing fairer distribution of GP funding and delivering innovative Neighbourhood Health Centres where they are most needed. Furthermore, devolving power to local communities will enable more tailored and lasting health improvements across the country.”