Life Expectancy at Birth by Gender
Life expectancy at birth for Scots continues to improve, and recent trends show a slight narrowing of the gap between males and females to under 5.0 years in 2006 (males now having life expectancy at birth of 75.1 years compared with 80.0 for females). However life expectancy in Scotland remains low compared with most Western European countries. In terms of quality of life, healthy life expectancy at birth (based on Self-Assessed Health) has also increased over the longer term but at a lower rate than the increase in overall life expectancy. The gap between life expectancy and healthy life expectancy is greater for women than for men, suggesting that they spend more years in poor health.
Source: Government Actuary's Department; NHS Scotland Information Services Division
Further Information
Last updated: July 2008