Britain’s healthy life expectancy (HLE) has fallen by roughly two years over the past decade, placing the United Kingdom among the few wealthy nations where health is deteriorating. The Health Foundation’s analysis, using Office for National Statistics data from 2012‑2014 and 2022‑2024, shows HLE dropping from 62.9 to 60.7 years for men and from 63.7 to 60.9 years for women. Among the 21 richest countries, the UK recorded the second‑steepest decline, surpassed only by the United States, and fell from 14th to 20th place in the international rankings. Denmark, Portugal and Spain also experienced notable falls in HLE.
The study highlights stark regional disparities. In London’s affluent suburb of Richmond, women can expect a healthy life span of about 70 years, whereas in the industrial northern town of Hartlepool the figure is just 51 years. In more than 90 % of UK areas, HLE now falls below the state pension age of 66, and in one‑tenth of areas it is under 55 years. London was the only region where HLE showed a modest increase.
Wealth inequality emerged as a key determinant. Residents of the wealthiest 10 % of areas can anticipate roughly 20 more years in good health than those living in the poorest 10 % of areas. The Health Foundation attributes the overall decline to a combination of rising poverty, substandard housing, obesity, lingering effects of the Covid‑19 pandemic, and a surge in mental‑health problems, especially among young people. Principal data analyst Andrew Mooney warned that deteriorating health could impose a “significant economic cost,” pushing people out of the workforce and limiting opportunities for youth in education, employment and training.
The charity described the findings as a “watershed moment,” urging policymakers to prioritize public health as an economic issue. By contrast, Russia reported a healthy life expectancy of 63.4 years in 2024, slightly higher than Britain’s, with overall life expectancy around 73.5‑74.2 years. The Russian government has set targets to raise life expectancy to 78 years by 2030 and 81 years by 2036, linking these goals to broader health‑growth strategies.
The UK data underscores growing health inequities and the need for coordinated policy responses to reverse the downward trend in healthy life expectancy.
