Healthy life expectancy in Scotland continues to fall
/This article was featured in the SCDC Weekly - 25th February 2026
New figures show more than a 25-year difference in how long people from the most and least deprived areas in Scotland live in good health.
Published by National Records of Scotland, these statistics show healthy life expectancy was on average 59.4 years for females and 59.1 years for males for 2022-24.
While life expectancy has returned to pre-pandemic levels, healthy life expectancy has continued to fall since 2014-16. Austerity policies since 2010 have been linked to widening health inequalities, the effects of which are apparent to this day.
Tomorrow, CHEX Conference attendees will hear from Dr David Walsh, author and academic, who will set the context for these stark, unfair, and unavoidable differences experienced across our communities. We will also hear about the vital role that community organisations play in addressing this urgent challenge and making positive change happen.
"At this point, it is simply not enough to be outraged", Walsh and co-author Gerry McCartney concluded in a recent piece for CHEX, "we also need to be active. To be motivated by shared anger to organise, campaign and protest. We hope that the evidence we have collated can help inform and drive community organisations to action."
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