Stagnating life expectancy in the UK and US revealed

Stagnating life expectancy in UK and US exposed: damning chart shows how both countries have fallen behind all other G7 nations – so how is YOUR country doing?

By Kate Pickles Health Editor for The Chron

Updated: 03:08 GMT, 16 March 2023

UK life expectancy has fallen in the world rankings, with only the US performing worst among advanced economies, according to a new analysis.

Around 70 years ago, people in the UK had one of the highest life expectancies in the world, ranking 10th in the world behind countries like Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

But although the average person is now living more than 12 years longer than they did in 1950, progress has stalled compared to other developed nations, with the UK falling to 36th in the world.

The only G7 country to perform worse is the US, which has fallen from 13th to 53rd on the UN list of the 200 countries.

Experts suggest the sluggish progress is likely due to rising health inequalities, which mean poorer social groups are dying earlier than the rich.

The chart shows how each G7 country performs in international life expectancy rankings each year from 1950 to 2020. While Japan climbed from 45th to third place, the UK plummeted from 10th to 36th and the US plummeted from 13th to 53rd. It is based on data from scientists at the University of Oxford and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine who have studied global life expectancy values

Countries like Japan have improved remarkably, moving up from 45th to 3rd in the world rankings. Pictured: Aerial view of Tokyo cityscape with Mount Fuji

Average life expectancy in the UK has increased from 68.63 years in 1950 to 80.43 years in 2020, compared to 68.06 and 77.41 in the US respectively. Pictured: Aerial view of Central Park in New York

Scientists from the University of Oxford and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine examined global life expectancy values ​​between 1952 and 2021.

They paid particular attention to the G7 countries – Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US – a collection of countries with advanced economies that account for about half of global economic output.

They found that the UK underperformed all G7 countries except the US for seven decades.

While life expectancy has increased since the study began, similar countries have seen larger increases, according to results published in the Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine.

Average life expectancy in the UK has increased from 68.63 years in 1950 to 80.43 years in 2020, compared to 68.06 and 77.41 in the US respectively.

However, these improvements have not kept pace with countries like Norway and Sweden, where people can now expect to live to 83.20 and 82.43, respectively.

A map showing the change in life expectancy between 1800, 1950 and 2015 illustrates the dramatic global divide

The 10 countries with the LONGEST life expectancy

Hong Kong – 85.2 years

Macau – 85.18 years

Japan – 84.69 years

Australia – 84.32 years

Republic of Korea – 83.61 years

Malta- 83.36 years

Norway – 83.2 years

Switzerland – 83.07 years

Martinique – 83.05 years

Singapore – 82.86 years

The 10 countries with the SHORTEST life expectancies

Chad – 52.78 years

Nigeria – 52.89 years

Central African Republic -54.6 years

Lesotho – 54.69

South Sudan – 55.48 years

Somalia – 55.97 years

Mali – 58.63 years

Ivory Coast – 53.09 years

Guinea – 59.33 years

Eswatini – 59.69 years

Meanwhile, countries like Japan have improved remarkably, moving up from 45th to third in the world rankings.

The authors said Britain’s descent in the ranks had been prepared for decades, which included a rise in income inequality in the UK during and after the 1980s.

Professor Martin McKee, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: “This increase has also led to an increase in the differences in life expectancy between different social groups.

“One reason life expectancy growth in the UK as a whole has been so sluggish is that it has declined among poorer groups in recent years.”

dr Lucinda Hiam of Oxford University said: “The ranking shows that the only G7 country to perform worse than the UK is the US.”

dr Hiam added: “In the short term, the government faces an acute crisis. However, a relative deterioration in the health of the population is evidence that all is not well.

“It was historically an early sign of serious political and economic problems.

“This new analysis suggests that the problems facing the UK run deep and raises serious questions about the path this country is taking.”

Life expectancy ranking 2020

ranking	Region, sub-region, country or territory	Life expectancy at birth (years)
1	Hong Kong	85.2
2	Macao	85.18
3	Japan	84.69
4	Australia	84.32
5	Republic of Korea	83.61
6	Malta	83.36
7	Norway	83.2
8th	Switzerland	83.07
9	Martinique	83.05
10	Singapore	82.86
11	New Zealand	82.74
12	Iceland	82.58
13	Ireland	82.47
14	Guadeloupe	82.44
15	Sweden	82.43
16	Italy	82.4
17	Israel	82.36
18	Spain	82.29
19	French Polynesia	82.22
20	France	82.21
21	reunion	82.1
22	Canada	82.05
23	Finland	81.87
24	Netherlands	81.64
25	Denmark	81.55
26	Austria	81.5
27	Luxembourg	81.43
28	Cyprus	81.39
29	Germany	81.15
30	Portugal	81.06
31	Greece	80.91
32	Taiwan	80.89
33	New Caledonia	80.83
34	Belgium	80.79
35	Slovenia	80.44
36	Great Britain	80.43
37	Maldives	79.88
38	Chile	79.38
39	Costa Rica	79.28
40	Thailand	79.27
41	Bahrain	79.17
42	Qatar	79.1
43	United Arab Emirates	78.95
44	Antigua and Barbuda	78.84
45	Czech Republic	78.58
46	Uruguay	78.43
47	Estonia	78.34
48	China	78.08
49	Puerto Rico	78.04
50	Croatia	77.98
51	Lebanon	77.8
52	Cuba	77.57
53	United States of America	77.41
54	Barbados	77.39
55	Slovakia	77.01
56	Albania	76.99
57	French Guiana	76.98
58	Poland	76.94
59	Kuwait	76.92
60	Panama	76.66
61	Guam	76.61
62	Sri Lanka	76.39
63	Montenegro	76.26
64	Saudi Arabia	76.24
65	Bosnia and Herzegovina	76.23
66	Curaçao	76.1
67	Malaysia	75.94
68	Argentina	75.89
69	Turkey	75.85
70	Hungary	75.73
71	Aruba	75.72
72	Latvia	75.45
73	Mayotte	75.41
74	Serbia	75.41
75	Vietnam	75.38
76	Romania	75.35
77	Tunisia	75.29
78	Jordan	75.18
79	North Macedonia	75.17
80	Lithuania	75.07
81	American Virgin Islands	74.94
82	Iran (Islamic Republic of)	74.83
83	Cape Verde	74.81
84	Brunei Darussalam	74.8
85	Colombia	74.77
86	Oman	74.76
87	Algeria	74.45
88	Trinidad and Tobago	74.41
89	State of Palestine	74.4
90	Mauritius	74.33
91	Brazil	74.01
92	Morocco	73.92
93	Peru	73.67
94	Bulgaria	73.65
95	Seychelles	73.53
96	Saint Lucia	73.42
97	to the. People’s Republic of Korea	73.27
98	Paraguay	73.18
99	Dominican Republic	72.89
100	Belize	72.85
101	Samoa	72.77
102	Georgia	72.77
103	Bahamas	72.68
104	Ukraine	72.57
105	Suriname	72.56
106	Belarus	72.51
107	Libya	72.47
108	Granada	72.28
109	Armenia	72.17
110	Ecuador	72.15
111	Mongolia	72.14
112	Syrian Arab Republic	72.14
113	St. Vincent and the Grenadines	72.13
114	Philippines	72.12
115	Bangladesh	71.97
116	Jamaica	71.87
117	Guatemala	71.8
118	Nicaragua	71.8
119	Bhutan	71.61
120	Honduras	71.46
121	Russian Federation	71.34
122	Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic)	71.1
123	ElSalvador	71.06
124	Egypt	70.99
125	Tonga	70.93
126	Micronesia (Federal States of)	70.67
127	Western Sahara	70.52
128	Cambodia	70.42
129	Uzbekistan	70.33
130	Vanuatu	70.3
131	Solomon Islands	70.2
132	Republic of Moldova	70.17
133	India	70.15
134	Mexico	70.13
135	Kazakhstan	70.03
136	Kyrgyzstan	69.63
137	Nepal	69.25
138	Iraq	69.12
139	Indonesia	68.81
140	Turkmenistan	68.69
141	Laos People’s Democratic Republic	68.5
142	Guyana	68.49
143	Timor Leste	68.48
144	Senegal	68.01
145	Tajikistan	67.99
146	Fiji	67.92
147	Sao Tome and Principe	67.79
148	Kiribati	67.27
149	Eritrea	67.13
150	Azerbaijan	66.87
151	Burma	66.8
152	Rwanda	66.77
153	Gabon	66.53
154	United Republic of Tanzania	66.41
155	Pakistan	66.27
156	Papua New Guinea	65.79
157	Botswana	65.65
158	Sudan	65.61
159	Ethiopia	65.37
160	South Africa	65.25
161	Madagascar	65.18
162	Yemen	64.65
163	Mauritania	64.53
164	Bolivia (plurinational state)	64.47
165	Comoros	64.17
166	Ghana	64.11
167	Haiti	64.05
168	Congo	63.79
169	Malawi	63.72
170	Uganda	62.85
171	Namibia	62.83
172	Djibouti	62.69
173	Kenya	62.68
174	Gambia	62.61
175	Afghanistan	62.58
176	Zambia	62.38
177	Angola	62.26
178	burundi	61.57
179	Niger	61.45
180	Mozambique	61.17
181	Zimbabwe	61.12
182	Go	61.04
183	Liberia	60.95
184	Cameroon	60.83
185	Equatorial Guinea	60.71
186	benin	60.09
187	Guinea Bissau	60
188	Sierra Leone	59.76
189	Democratic Republic of Congo	59.74
190	Burkina Faso	59.73
191	Eswatini	59.69
192	Guinea	59.33
193	Ivory Coast	59.03
194	mali	58.63
195	Somalia	55.97
196	South Sudan	55.48
197	Lesotho	54.69
198	Central African Republic	54.6
199	Nigeria	52.89
200	Chad	52.78