Area · S12000023
Orkney Islands
Population studies suggest people in Orkney Islands, on average, can expect around 81.0 years of life, of which around 70.0 may be in good general health.
Last data refresh · 2026-04-26
Source · ONS & OHID
Open Government Licence v3.0
§ 01 · Life expectancy
How long people in Orkney Islands live
Period life expectancy at birth, taken from the ONS local-area life-expectancy dataset (2022–2024). These are population averages, not personal predictions.
Life expectancy · average
81.0yrs
Average across male and female.
Life expectancy · male
79.3yrs
Life expectancy · female
82.8yrs
§ 02 · Healthy life expectancy
How many of those years may be in good health
Healthy life expectancy at birth estimates the years a person can expect to live in good general health. The gap between life expectancy and healthy life expectancy is the share of life spent in poorer health.
Healthy life expectancy · average
70.0yrs
Years lived in good general health.
Healthy life expectancy · male
66.7yrs
Healthy life expectancy · female
73.3yrs
Years not in good health
11.0yrs
The healthy-life gap for this area.
vs UK average (63.3 yrs healthy)
Orkney Islands is 6.7 years above the UK average for healthy life expectancy.
FIG. 02 · ORKNEY ISLANDS
Orkney Islands, square by square
70 healthy years · 11 years with poorer health · out of 81 total.
Healthy (70) Poorer health (11) Beyond LE (19)
§ 03 · Lifestyle indicators
Behavioural risk factors at population level
Adult population shares for the five lifestyle indicators Lifemap tracks. Definitions and survey periods vary by country — see Sources for the full provenance and the comparability caveats.
Smoking (adults)
10.6%
Adult smoking prevalence.
Obesity / overweight (adults)
35.0%
Adult population share. Definition varies between countries — see Sources.
Higher-risk drinking
22.0%
Adults drinking above the chief medical officer's weekly guideline.
Physically active (adults)
64.0%
Adults meeting the CMO 150 min / week guideline.
Five-a-day fruit & veg
25.0%
Adults eating five or more portions a day.
§ 04 · Look up another area
Compare Orkney Islands with another postcode
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