Region of England · E12000008

Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy in the South East

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

Life expectancy at birth in the South East is 80.7 years for men and 84.4 for women; healthy life expectancy, the years lived in good general health, is 63.0 and 64.3 years (ONS, 2022–2024). Life expectancy is above England’s for both men (by 1.2 years) and women (by 1.1 years), a difference larger than the margins of error. Healthy life expectancy is above England’s for both men (by 2.1 years) and women (by 3.0 years), a difference larger than the margins of error.

At a glance Average of men and women, in years

Healthy life expectancy 63.7
Years in poorer health 18.9
Life expectancy 82.6
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 South East 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

80.7 years

95% CI 80.6–80.7

Above England (79.5)

Women

84.4 years

95% CI 84.3–84.4

Above England (83.3)

Average of men and women

82.6 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 both men and women

ONS healthy life expectancy at birth for 2022–2024: of the years in life expectancy, the number a baby born in the South East 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

63.0 years

95% CI 62.4–63.6

Above England (60.9)

Women

64.3 years

95% CI 63.5–65.0

Above England (61.3)

Average of men and women

63.7 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

South East, year by year

63.7 years of healthy life expectancy and 18.9 in poorer health, 82.6 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

17.7 years

England 18.6

Women

20.1 years

England 22.0

Average of men and women

18.9 years

England 20.3

§ 03 · Trends

How the figures have changed

ONS figures for the South East 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: 44 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 77.4 in 2001–2003 to 80.7 in 2022–2024, a change larger than the margins of error. Women: rose from 81.6 in 2001–2003 to 84.4 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	80.7	80.6–80.7	84.4	84.3–84.4
2021–2023	80.3	80.2–80.4	84.1	84.0–84.1
2020–2022	80.1	80.0–80.2	83.8	83.8–83.9
2019–2021	80.2	80.1–80.3	83.9	83.9–84.0
2018–2020	80.5	80.4–80.6	84.1	84.0–84.1
2017–2019	80.7	80.6–80.8	84.2	84.1–84.3
2016–2018	80.6	80.5–80.6	84.1	84.0–84.1
2015–2017	80.5	80.4–80.6	84.0	83.9–84.0
2014–2016	80.5	80.5–80.6	84.0	83.9–84.1
2013–2015	80.4	80.4–80.5	84.0	83.9–84.0
2012–2014	80.4	80.3–80.5	83.9	83.9–84.0
2011–2013	80.3	80.2–80.4	83.8	83.8–83.9
2010–2012	80.2	80.1–80.2	83.7	83.6–83.8
2009–2011	79.9	79.8–79.9	83.6	83.5–83.6
2008–2010	79.5	79.5–79.6	83.3	83.2–83.3
2007–2009	79.3	79.2–79.3	83.1	83.0–83.1
2006–2008	79.0	79.0–79.1	82.8	82.7–82.8
2005–2007	78.8	78.7–78.8	82.6	82.5–82.6
2004–2006	78.5	78.4–78.5	82.3	82.3–82.4
2003–2005	78.1	78.0–78.1	82.0	81.9–82.1
2002–2004	77.7	77.6–77.8	81.8	81.7–81.9
2001–2003	77.4	77.3–77.4	81.6	81.5–81.7

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

Men
Women
95% confidence interval

Men: fell from 65.4 in 2011–2013 to 63.0 in 2022–2024, a change larger than the margins of error. Women: fell from 66.8 in 2011–2013 to 64.3 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	63.0	62.4–63.6	64.3	63.5–65.0
2021–2023	63.5	62.9–64.2	64.4	63.7–65.1
2020–2022	64.4	63.9–65.0	65.1	64.4–65.7
2019–2021	64.7	64.2–65.3	66.4	65.8–67.0
2018–2020	65.5	65.0–66.0	66.4	65.8–67.0
2017–2019	65.4	64.9–65.9	66.3	65.7–66.9
2016–2018	65.5	65.0–66.0	67.0	66.4–67.5
2015–2017	65.8	65.3–66.3	66.6	66.0–67.1
2014–2016	65.9	65.4–66.3	66.7	66.2–67.2
2013–2015	65.6	65.2–66.1	67.1	66.6–67.6
2012–2014	65.6	65.1–66.0	67.0	66.5–67.5
2011–2013	65.4	64.9–65.8	66.8	66.3–67.3

§ 04 · At age 65

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

At 2022–2024 rates, men reaching 65 in the South East could expect, on average, a further 19.5 years of life, 11.2 of them in good health; for women the figures are 22.0 and 12.8 years. These are averages for everyone of that age, at the death rates and health of 2022–2024.

Life expectancy at 65, men

19.5 years

England 18.9

Life expectancy at 65, women

22.0 years

England 21.4

Healthy life expectancy at 65, men

11.2 years

England 10.1

Healthy life expectancy at 65, women

12.8 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 South East

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 South East, years, 2022–2024
Measure	Lowest	Highest	Councils
Life expectancy, men	76.6 Hastings	83.7 Hart	64
Life expectancy, women	81.6 Hastings	86.3 Winchester	64
Healthy life expectancy, men	57.5 Portsmouth	68.0 Wokingham	19
Healthy life expectancy, women	58.6 Portsmouth	69.4 Wokingham	19

§ 06 · Councils

Councils in the South East

The region has 19 upper-tier councils and 51 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 South East: 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
Bracknell Forest	Unitary authority	81.2	85.2	65.2	67.0	17.1
Brighton and Hove	Unitary authority	79.4	83.6	61.1	62.6	19.6
Buckinghamshire	Unitary authority	81.5	85.5	65.3	66.9	17.4
East Sussex	County	80.2	83.8	59.2	59.9	22.4
Hampshire	County	81.5	84.8	64.2	65.1	18.5
Isle of Wight	Unitary authority	80.5	84.0	58.6	59.3	23.3
Kent	County	79.7	83.7	62.5	63.9	18.5
Medway	Unitary authority	78.7	82.6	59.0	60.2	21.1
Milton Keynes	Unitary authority	80.2	83.0	60.8	61.5	20.4
Oxfordshire	County	81.6	85.1	65.4	66.6	17.4
Portsmouth	Unitary authority	78.1	82.6	57.5	58.6	22.3
Reading	Unitary authority	79.4	83.3	61.7	63.0	19.0
Slough	Unitary authority	77.9	82.6	60.1	61.8	19.3
Southampton	Unitary authority	78.0	82.6	57.6	59.0	22.0
Surrey	County	81.8	85.3	65.1	66.4	17.8
West Berkshire	Unitary authority	81.7	84.7	65.5	66.5	17.2
West Sussex	County	80.6	84.5	63.1	64.5	18.8
Windsor and Maidenhead	Unitary authority	81.8	85.4	67.3	68.9	15.5
Wokingham	Unitary authority	82.8	85.8	68.0	69.4	15.6

Districts

Districts in the South East: 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
Adur	West Sussex	80.8	84.0	82.4
Arun	West Sussex	79.6	83.9	81.8
Ashford	Kent	80.3	83.9	82.1
Basingstoke and Deane	Hampshire	81.5	84.3	82.9
Canterbury	Kent	79.9	83.7	81.8
Cherwell	Oxfordshire	81.0	84.1	82.6
Chichester	West Sussex	80.0	84.8	82.4
Crawley	West Sussex	80.2	84.1	82.2
Dartford	Kent	79.9	83.1	81.5
Dover	Kent	79.0	83.6	81.3
East Hampshire	Hampshire	82.3	85.0	83.7
Eastbourne	East Sussex	78.9	83.3	81.1
Eastleigh	Hampshire	81.7	85.2	83.5
Elmbridge	Surrey	82.4	86.0	84.2
Epsom and Ewell	Surrey	81.4	85.7	83.6
Fareham	Hampshire	81.5	85.3	83.4
Folkestone and Hythe	Kent	78.2	83.0	80.6
Gosport	Hampshire	79.0	82.3	80.7
Gravesham	Kent	79.1	83.7	81.4
Guildford	Surrey	81.6	85.4	83.5
Hart	Hampshire	83.7	86.2	85.0
Hastings	East Sussex	76.6	81.6	79.1
Havant	Hampshire	80.1	83.4	81.8
Horsham	West Sussex	82.2	85.5	83.9
Lewes	East Sussex	80.8	84.8	82.8
Maidstone	Kent	80.3	83.9	82.1
Mid Sussex	West Sussex	81.5	85.2	83.4
Mole Valley	Surrey	82.3	85.6	84.0
New Forest	Hampshire	81.7	85.3	83.5
Oxford	Oxfordshire	80.7	84.1	82.4
Reigate and Banstead	Surrey	81.5	85.0	83.3
Rother	East Sussex	80.4	83.0	81.7
Runnymede	Surrey	80.6	83.9	82.3
Rushmoor	Hampshire	80.5	83.4	82.0
Sevenoaks	Kent	82.2	85.3	83.8
South Oxfordshire	Oxfordshire	82.2	86.0	84.1
Spelthorne	Surrey	80.9	84.9	82.9
Surrey Heath	Surrey	82.5	85.1	83.8
Swale	Kent	78.9	83.2	81.1
Tandridge	Surrey	82.3	85.2	83.8
Test Valley	Hampshire	82.0	84.9	83.5
Thanet	Kent	77.2	82.0	79.6
Tonbridge and Malling	Kent	80.7	84.6	82.7
Tunbridge Wells	Kent	81.3	84.9	83.1
Vale of White Horse	Oxfordshire	81.7	85.4	83.6
Waverley	Surrey	82.4	85.9	84.2
Wealden	East Sussex	82.5	85.0	83.8
West Oxfordshire	Oxfordshire	81.9	85.4	83.7
Winchester	Hampshire	82.4	86.3	84.4
Woking	Surrey	81.3	85.3	83.3
Worthing	West Sussex	79.8	83.5	81.7

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
East of Englandmen 80.3 · women 84.0
Londonmen 80.5 · women 84.7
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.