Life expectancy and healthy life expectancy in Wales
Life expectancy at birth in Wales is 78.3 years for men and 82.2 for women; healthy life expectancy, the years lived in good general health, is 59.2 and 58.5 years (ONS, 2022–2024). Life expectancy is below the UK’s for both men (by 0.9 years) and women (by 0.8 years), a difference larger than the margins of error. Healthy life expectancy is below the UK’s for both men (by 1.5 years) and women (by 2.4 years), a difference larger than the margins of error.
- Healthy life expectancy 58.9
- Years in poorer health 21.4
- Life expectancy 80.3
- UK: 60.8 healthy, 81.1 in total
Life expectancy: below the UK’s for both men and women
ONS period life expectancy at birth for 2022–2024: the average number of years a baby born in Wales would live if the death rates of those three years applied throughout life. It describes the population, not any one person. Definition and source.
- Below the UK (79.2)
- Below the UK (83.0)
- United Kingdom 81.1
“Above” or “below” means the two 95% confidence intervals do not overlap; “similar to” means they do. United Kingdom: men 79.2 (95% CI 79.1–79.2), women 83.0 (95% CI 83.0–83.1). How Lifemap compares figures.
Healthy life expectancy: below the UK’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 Wales 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.
- Below the UK (60.7)
- Below the UK (60.9)
- United Kingdom 60.8
Comparisons work as for life expectancy above. United Kingdom: men 60.7 (95% CI 60.5–60.9), women 60.9 (95% CI 60.7–61.2). How Lifemap compares figures.
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.
- United Kingdom 18.5
- United Kingdom 22.1
- United Kingdom 20.3
How the figures have changed
ONS figures for Wales 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: 56 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.
- Men
- Women
- 95% confidence interval
Men: rose from 75.5 in 2001–2003 to 78.3 in 2022–2024, a change larger than the margins of error. Women: rose from 80.1 in 2001–2003 to 82.2 in 2022–2024, a change larger than the margins of error.
Life expectancy at birth: figures for each period
| Period | Men | 95% CI | Women | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022–2024 | 78.3 | 78.1–78.4 | 82.2 | 82.1–82.3 |
| 2021–2023 | 78.0 | 77.9–78.2 | 82.0 | 81.9–82.1 |
| 2020–2022 | 77.9 | 77.8–78.0 | 81.8 | 81.7–81.9 |
| 2019–2021 | 78.0 | 77.8–78.1 | 81.8 | 81.7–82.0 |
| 2018–2020 | 78.1 | 78.0–78.2 | 81.9 | 81.8–82.0 |
| 2017–2019 | 78.3 | 78.2–78.5 | 82.2 | 82.1–82.3 |
| 2016–2018 | 78.2 | 78.0–78.3 | 82.2 | 82.1–82.3 |
| 2015–2017 | 78.2 | 78.1–78.3 | 82.2 | 82.1–82.3 |
| 2014–2016 | 78.4 | 78.2–78.5 | 82.3 | 82.2–82.4 |
| 2013–2015 | 78.4 | 78.3–78.5 | 82.2 | 82.1–82.3 |
| 2012–2014 | 78.4 | 78.3–78.5 | 82.3 | 82.2–82.4 |
| 2011–2013 | 78.2 | 78.1–78.3 | 82.2 | 82.1–82.3 |
| 2010–2012 | 78.1 | 78.0–78.2 | 82.1 | 82.0–82.2 |
| 2009–2011 | 77.8 | 77.7–78.0 | 82.0 | 81.9–82.1 |
| 2008–2010 | 77.5 | 77.4–77.6 | 81.6 | 81.5–81.7 |
| 2007–2009 | 77.1 | 77.0–77.2 | 81.4 | 81.3–81.5 |
| 2006–2008 | 76.9 | 76.7–77.0 | 81.2 | 81.1–81.3 |
| 2005–2007 | 76.7 | 76.6–76.8 | 81.1 | 81.0–81.2 |
| 2004–2006 | 76.6 | 76.4–76.7 | 80.9 | 80.8–81.0 |
| 2003–2005 | 76.1 | 76.0–76.2 | 80.5 | 80.4–80.6 |
| 2002–2004 | 75.8 | 75.6–75.9 | 80.3 | 80.2–80.4 |
| 2001–2003 | 75.5 | 75.3–75.6 | 80.1 | 80.0–80.2 |
- Men
- Women
- 95% confidence interval
Men: fell from 61.3 in 2011–2013 to 59.2 in 2022–2024, a change larger than the margins of error. Women: fell from 61.9 in 2011–2013 to 58.5 in 2022–2024, a change larger than the margins of error.
Healthy life expectancy at birth: figures for each period
| Period | Men | 95% CI | Women | 95% CI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022–2024 | 59.2 | 58.4–59.9 | 58.5 | 57.6–59.4 |
| 2021–2023 | 60.3 | 59.6–61.0 | 59.6 | 58.8–60.4 |
| 2020–2022 | 60.8 | 60.1–61.4 | 60.2 | 59.5–61.0 |
| 2019–2021 | 61.3 | 60.7–61.9 | 61.8 | 61.1–62.4 |
| 2018–2020 | 61.4 | 60.9–62.0 | 62.1 | 61.5–62.8 |
| 2017–2019 | 61.3 | 60.8–61.8 | 61.9 | 61.3–62.5 |
| 2016–2018 | 61.2 | 60.7–61.7 | 61.9 | 61.3–62.5 |
| 2015–2017 | 61.2 | 60.7–61.7 | 62.0 | 61.4–62.6 |
| 2014–2016 | 61.3 | 60.8–61.7 | 62.4 | 61.8–62.9 |
| 2013–2015 | 61.2 | 60.8–61.7 | 62.5 | 62.0–63.0 |
| 2012–2014 | 61.4 | 60.9–61.8 | 62.2 | 61.7–62.8 |
| 2011–2013 | 61.3 | 60.9–61.8 | 61.9 | 61.4–62.4 |
Years of life, and of good health, from age 65
At 2022–2024 rates, men reaching 65 in Wales could expect, on average, a further 18.4 years of life, 9.6 of them in good health; for women the figures are 20.6 and 10.3 years. These are averages for everyone of that age, at the death rates and health of 2022–2024.
- United Kingdom 18.8
- United Kingdom 21.2
- United Kingdom 10.0
- United Kingdom 11.0
ONS, 2022–2024. Lifemap’s dataset holds no confidence intervals for the figures at 65, so they are shown without comparison. Definitions and sources.
Lowest and highest councils in Wales
The councils with the lowest and highest published estimates, for men and women, in 2022–2024. Councils near either end are often within each other’s confidence intervals.
| Measure | Lowest | Highest | Councils |
|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy, men | 75.0 Merthyr Tydfil | 80.3 | 22 |
| Life expectancy, women | 79.2 Blaenau Gwent | 84.6 Monmouthshire | 22 |
| Healthy life expectancy, men | 51.7 Merthyr Tydfil | 64.2 Powys | 22 |
| Healthy life expectancy, women | 50.1 Merthyr Tydfil | 63.8 Powys | 22 |
Every council in Wales
All 22 councils in Wales. Figures in years, 2022–2024. Each council’s page has the 95% confidence intervals and comparisons, and the rankings put them in order.
| Life expectancy | Healthy life expectancy | Years in poorer health | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Council | Life expectancy, Men | Life expectancy, Women | Healthy life expectancy, Men | Healthy life expectancy, Women | Years in poorer health, Average of men and women |
| Blaenau Gwent | 75.8 | 79.2 | 55.7 | 54.4 | 22.4 |
| Bridgend | 78.1 | 81.9 | 57.9 | 57.2 | 22.4 |
| Caerphilly | 77.2 | 80.6 | 58.0 | 56.9 | 21.4 |
| Cardiff | 78.5 | 82.2 | 60.1 | 59.5 | 20.6 |
| Carmarthenshire | 78.7 | 81.9 | 57.7 | 56.2 | 23.3 |
| Ceredigion | 79.7 | 83.3 | 63.3 | 63.2 | 18.2 |
| Conwy | 78.9 | 82.6 | 61.1 | 60.7 | 19.9 |
| Denbighshire | 77.7 | 81.2 | 59.9 | 59.2 | 19.9 |
| Flintshire | 78.8 | 82.4 | 59.1 | 58.2 | 21.9 |
| Gwynedd | 78.8 | 83.3 | 62.3 | 62.5 | 18.7 |
| Isle of Anglesey | 78.7 | 82.7 | 61.2 | 61.1 | 19.5 |
| Merthyr Tydfil | 75.0 | 79.7 | 51.7 | 50.1 | 26.5 |
| Monmouthshire | 80.3 | 84.6 | 63.2 | 63.5 | 19.1 |
| Neath Port Talbot | 77.5 | 81.4 | 57.8 | 57.1 | 22.0 |
| Newport | 77.9 | 82.1 | 57.1 | 56.1 | 23.4 |
| Pembrokeshire | 78.8 | 83.1 | 61.6 | 61.5 | 19.4 |
| Powys | 80.3 | 83.6 | 64.2 | 63.8 | 18.0 |
| Rhondda Cynon Taf | 77.0 | 81.3 | 56.0 | 54.9 | 23.7 |
| Swansea | 77.5 | 82.2 | 57.4 | 56.8 | 22.8 |
| Torfaen | 77.6 | 81.6 | 54.1 | 52.8 | 26.1 |
| Vale of Glamorgan | 80.3 | 83.9 | 62.7 | 62.3 | 19.6 |
| Wrexham | 77.5 | 82.1 | 60.3 | 60.1 | 19.6 |
Rankings for Wales: life expectancy · healthy life expectancy.
The UK and the other nations
- United Kingdommen 79.2 · women 83.0
- Englandmen 79.5 · women 83.3
- Scotlandmen 77.2 · women 81.1
- Northern Irelandmen 78.8 · women 82.6
Life expectancy at birth, years, 2022–2024. Look up a postcode · All councils · Download the data.