Region of England · E12000006

Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy in the East of England

Name: Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy in the East of England
Creator: Lifemap
License: https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/

Life expectancy at birth in the East of England is 80.3 years for men and 84.0 for women; healthy life expectancy, the years lived in good general health, is 62.3 and 62.0 years (ONS, 2022–2024). Life expectancy is above England’s for both men (by 0.8 years) and women (by 0.7 years), a difference larger than the margins of error. Healthy life expectancy is 1.4 years above England’s for men and similar to it for women, allowing for the margins of error in the estimates.

At a glance Average of men and women, in years

Healthy life expectancy 62.2
Years in poorer health 20.0
Life expectancy 82.2
England: 61.1 healthy, 81.4 in total

Dataset version: 26 September 2026
Data period: 2022–2024
Source: ONS
Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0

§ 01 · Life expectancy at birth

Life expectancy: above England’s for both men and women

ONS period life expectancy at birth for 2022–2024: the average number of years a baby born in the East of England would live if the death rates of those three years applied throughout life. It describes the population, not any one person. Definition and source.

Men

80.3 years

95% CI 80.2–80.4

Above England (79.5)

Women

84.0 years

95% CI 83.9–84.0

Above England (83.3)

Average of men and women

82.2 years

England 81.4

Lifemap’s average of the two published figures. No interval is calculated for it, so it is not compared.

“Above” or “below” means the two 95% confidence intervals do not overlap; “similar to” means they do. England: men 79.5 (95% CI 79.4–79.5), women 83.3 (95% CI 83.3–83.4). How Lifemap compares figures.

§ 02 · Healthy life expectancy at birth

Healthy life expectancy: above England’s for men, similar to it for women

ONS healthy life expectancy at birth for 2022–2024: of the years in life expectancy, the number a baby born in the East of England would live in good general health, based on how people rate their own health in a survey. Because it rests on a survey sample, its intervals are wider than those for life expectancy. Definition and source.

Men

62.3 years

95% CI 61.5–63.2

Above England (60.9)

Women

62.0 years

95% CI 61.0–63.0

Similar to England (61.3)

Average of men and women

62.2 years

England 61.1

Lifemap’s average of the two published figures. No interval is calculated for it, so it is not compared.

Comparisons work as for life expectancy above. England: men 60.9 (95% CI 60.7–61.2), women 61.3 (95% CI 61.0–61.6). How Lifemap compares figures.

Average of men and women

East of England, year by year

62.2 years of healthy life expectancy and 20.0 in poorer health, 82.2 in total. One square per year, rounded to whole years.

Healthy life expectancy Years in poorer health Up to age 100

Years in poorer health

Life expectancy minus healthy life expectancy: Lifemap’s arithmetic on the ONS figures, which ONS does not publish itself. Definition · Ranking of councils.

Men

18.0 years

England 18.6

Women

22.0 years

England 22.0

Average of men and women

20.0 years

England 20.3

§ 03 · Trends

How the figures have changed

ONS figures for the East of England for each three-year period, with the 95% confidence interval shaded. Consecutive periods share two of their three years, so the change from one period to the next is small: 49 of the 64 period-to-period changes shown here are within the confidence intervals. Compare periods several years apart, and check whether their intervals overlap. Reading trends.

Life expectancy at birth (years), 2001–2003 to 2022–2024

Men
Women
95% confidence interval

Men: rose from 77.3 in 2001–2003 to 80.3 in 2022–2024, a change larger than the margins of error. Women: rose from 81.4 in 2001–2003 to 84.0 in 2022–2024, a change larger than the margins of error.

Life expectancy at birth: figures for each period

Life expectancy at birth (years) with 95% confidence intervals
Period	Men	95% CI	Women	95% CI
2022–2024	80.3	80.2–80.4	84.0	83.9–84.0
2021–2023	80.0	79.9–80.1	83.6	83.6–83.7
2020–2022	79.8	79.7–79.9	83.5	83.4–83.6
2019–2021	80.0	79.9–80.0	83.6	83.5–83.7
2018–2020	80.1	80.0–80.2	83.7	83.6–83.8
2017–2019	80.4	80.3–80.5	83.8	83.7–83.9
2016–2018	80.3	80.2–80.4	83.7	83.6–83.8
2015–2017	80.3	80.2–80.4	83.6	83.6–83.7
2014–2016	80.3	80.3–80.4	83.7	83.6–83.8
2013–2015	80.3	80.2–80.4	83.7	83.6–83.8
2012–2014	80.3	80.2–80.4	83.7	83.6–83.8
2011–2013	80.2	80.1–80.3	83.6	83.5–83.7
2010–2012	80.0	79.9–80.1	83.5	83.4–83.6
2009–2011	79.7	79.6–79.8	83.4	83.3–83.5
2008–2010	79.3	79.2–79.4	83.0	82.9–83.1
2007–2009	79.1	79.0–79.2	82.8	82.7–82.9
2006–2008	78.8	78.7–78.9	82.6	82.5–82.7
2005–2007	78.5	78.4–78.6	82.4	82.4–82.5
2004–2006	78.2	78.1–78.3	82.2	82.1–82.3
2003–2005	77.9	77.8–78.0	81.8	81.8–81.9
2002–2004	77.6	77.5–77.7	81.6	81.5–81.7
2001–2003	77.3	77.2–77.4	81.4	81.3–81.5

Healthy life expectancy at birth (years), 2011–2013 to 2022–2024

Men
Women
95% confidence interval

Men: fell from 64.9 in 2011–2013 to 62.3 in 2022–2024, a change larger than the margins of error. Women: fell from 65.8 in 2011–2013 to 62.0 in 2022–2024, a change larger than the margins of error.

Healthy life expectancy at birth: figures for each period

Healthy life expectancy at birth (years) with 95% confidence intervals
Period	Men	95% CI	Women	95% CI
2022–2024	62.3	61.5–63.2	62.0	61.0–63.0
2021–2023	62.9	62.1–63.6	63.2	62.3–64.1
2020–2022	63.4	62.7–64.1	64.5	63.7–65.3
2019–2021	64.1	63.4–64.7	65.0	64.3–65.8
2018–2020	64.3	63.6–64.9	65.5	64.7–66.2
2017–2019	64.3	63.6–64.9	65.0	64.3–65.7
2016–2018	64.3	63.7–64.9	65.3	64.6–66.0
2015–2017	64.5	63.9–65.1	65.3	64.6–65.9
2014–2016	65.0	64.4–65.6	65.5	64.8–66.1
2013–2015	65.1	64.5–65.6	65.8	65.2–66.5
2012–2014	65.0	64.5–65.6	66.1	65.5–66.8
2011–2013	64.9	64.3–65.5	65.8	65.1–66.4

§ 04 · At age 65

Years of life, and of good health, from age 65

At 2022–2024 rates, men reaching 65 in the East of England could expect, on average, a further 19.4 years of life, 10.9 of them in good health; for women the figures are 21.8 and 12.0 years. These are averages for everyone of that age, at the death rates and health of 2022–2024.

Life expectancy at 65, men

19.4 years

England 18.9

Life expectancy at 65, women

21.8 years

England 21.4

Healthy life expectancy at 65, men

10.9 years

England 10.1

Healthy life expectancy at 65, women

12.0 years

England 11.1

ONS, 2022–2024. Lifemap’s dataset holds no confidence intervals for the figures at 65, so they are shown without comparison. Definitions and sources.

§ 05 · Lowest and highest

Lowest and highest councils in the East of England

The councils with the lowest and highest published estimates, for men and women, in 2022–2024. Life expectancy is compared across districts and single-tier councils, not the counties, whose figures include their districts’; healthy life expectancy across the upper-tier councils ONS publishes it for. Councils near either end are often within each other’s confidence intervals.

Lowest and highest council figures in the East of England, years, 2022–2024
Measure	Lowest	Highest	Councils
Life expectancy, men	77.6 Great Yarmouth	82.8 Uttlesford	45
Life expectancy, women	81.5 Great Yarmouth	86.4 Uttlesford	45
Healthy life expectancy, men	56.9 Luton	65.4 Hertfordshire	11
Healthy life expectancy, women	55.8 Luton	65.5 Hertfordshire	11

§ 06 · Councils

Councils in the East of England

The region has 11 upper-tier councils and 39 districts, which sit within the counties listed in the first table. Figures in years, 2022–2024. Each council’s page has the 95% confidence intervals, comparisons with England and the council’s rank.

Upper-tier councils

Upper-tier councils in the East of England: life expectancy and healthy life expectancy at birth, men and women, and years in poorer health, 2022–2024
Council	Type	Life expectancy, Men	Life expectancy, Women	Healthy life expectancy, Men	Healthy life expectancy, Women	Years in poorer health, Average of men and women
		Life expectancy		Healthy life expectancy		Years in poorer health
Bedford	Unitary authority	79.6	83.9	62.5	62.7	19.2
Cambridgeshire	County	81.0	84.2	62.3	61.5	20.7
Central Bedfordshire	Unitary authority	80.6	84.2	61.5	60.9	21.2
Essex	County	80.4	84.0	62.7	62.4	19.6
Hertfordshire	County	81.1	84.7	65.4	65.5	17.4
Luton	Unitary authority	78.6	82.6	56.9	55.8	24.2
Norfolk	County	79.8	83.6	61.3	61.1	20.5
Peterborough	Unitary authority	78.1	81.9	58.0	57.4	22.3
Southend-on-Sea	Unitary authority	78.7	82.9	61.3	61.4	19.4
Suffolk	County	80.6	84.2	62.1	61.7	20.5
Thurrock	Unitary authority	78.9	82.7	58.9	58.2	22.2

Districts

Districts in the East of England: life expectancy at birth, men, women and the average, 2022–2024
Council	County	Life expectancy, Men	Life expectancy, Women	Life expectancy, Average of men and women
		Life expectancy
Babergh	Suffolk	81.7	85.0	83.4
Basildon	Essex	80.2	83.3	81.8
Braintree	Essex	80.2	83.6	81.9
Breckland	Norfolk	79.8	83.4	81.6
Brentwood	Essex	82.1	85.1	83.6
Broadland	Norfolk	81.1	84.2	82.7
Broxbourne	Hertfordshire	80.9	85.2	83.1
Cambridge	Cambridgeshire	80.6	84.0	82.3
Castle Point	Essex	80.1	84.3	82.2
Chelmsford	Essex	81.3	84.3	82.8
Colchester	Essex	80.1	83.9	82.0
Dacorum	Hertfordshire	80.7	84.7	82.7
East Cambridgeshire	Cambridgeshire	82.1	84.9	83.5
East Hertfordshire	Hertfordshire	82.0	85.6	83.8
East Suffolk	Suffolk	80.6	83.8	82.2
Epping Forest	Essex	80.6	85.3	83.0
Fenland	Cambridgeshire	77.8	82.3	80.1
Great Yarmouth	Norfolk	77.6	81.5	79.6
Harlow	Essex	78.8	82.8	80.8
Hertsmere	Hertfordshire	80.7	85.4	83.1
Huntingdonshire	Cambridgeshire	81.0	84.1	82.6
Ipswich	Suffolk	79.2	83.0	81.1
King's Lynn and West Norfolk	Norfolk	79.5	83.6	81.6
Maldon	Essex	80.6	83.6	82.1
Mid Suffolk	Suffolk	80.7	85.2	83.0
North Hertfordshire	Hertfordshire	81.5	84.3	82.9
North Norfolk	Norfolk	80.1	84.9	82.5
Norwich	Norfolk	78.1	82.6	80.4
Rochford	Essex	81.1	84.3	82.7
South Cambridgeshire	Cambridgeshire	82.5	85.4	84.0
South Norfolk	Norfolk	81.2	84.5	82.9
St Albans	Hertfordshire	82.3	85.2	83.8
Stevenage	Hertfordshire	79.5	82.3	80.9
Tendring	Essex	78.1	82.2	80.2
Three Rivers	Hertfordshire	81.9	85.0	83.5
Uttlesford	Essex	82.8	86.4	84.6
Watford	Hertfordshire	79.8	83.8	81.8
Welwyn Hatfield	Hertfordshire	80.7	84.6	82.7
West Suffolk	Suffolk	81.0	84.4	82.7

ONS’s annual healthy life expectancy is published for upper-tier and single-tier councils, not English districts. A district’s own page shows its county’s annual figure, labelled as the county’s, and ONS’s separate census-based estimate for the district, which is not comparable and is not listed here.

§ 07 · More

England’s other regions

North Eastmen 77.7 · women 81.6
North Westmen 77.9 · women 81.9
Yorkshire and The Humbermen 78.3 · women 82.3
East Midlandsmen 79.0 · women 82.8
West Midlandsmen 78.7 · women 82.8
Londonmen 80.5 · women 84.7
South Eastmen 80.7 · women 84.4
South Westmen 80.3 · women 84.1

Life expectancy at birth, years, 2022–2024. England · United Kingdom · Rankings · Download the data. Lifestyle figures (smoking, weight, activity, diet and drinking) are on each council’s page; Lifemap’s dataset has none for regions.