Life Expectancy
More aged 70 and 80 than ever before
Expected further number of years of life at ages 50 and 65, United Kingdom
Life expectancy
Life expectancy for both men and women has continued to rise. In 2002, life expectancy at birth for females born in the UK was 81 years, compared with 76 years for males. This contrasts with 49 and 45 years respectively at the turn of the last century in 1901.
In recent years, the increase in life expectancy among older adults has been dramatic, particularly for men. Between 1981 and 2002, life expectancy at age 50 increased by four and a half years for men and three years for women. For those aged 65 and over the extra years of life were three years and two years respectively. By 2002, women who were aged 65 could expect to live to the age of 84, while men could expect to live to the age of 81.
Projections suggest that life expectancies at these older ages will increase by a further three years or so by 2020. The expectation of life for people at 70 and 80 has also gone up. At present there are more older people aged 70 and 80 than ever before.
Causes of death
Over the last 30 years death rates for men have fallen faster than those for women, but men still have higher rates than women at all ages. Death rates increase with age, from 8 per 1,000 men aged 50 to 64 to 188 per 1,000 men aged 85 and over in England and Wales in 2002. The equivalent rates for women were 5 and 160.
The most common cause of death for people aged 50 to 64 was cancers. Overall, 39 per cent of male, and 53 per cent of female, deaths in this age group were due to cancers. Lung cancer was the most common cause of cancer death for men in this age group. Breast cancer was the most common cause for women.
For those over the age of 65, circulatory diseases are the most common cause of death. Within this age group, heart disease as a cause of death decreases with age, and strokes increase.
Pneumonia as a cause of death also increases with age to account for one in ten deaths among those aged 85 and over.
Sources: Government Actuary's Department for expectation of life data Office for National Statistics for mortality data
Notes: The expectation of life at a given age is defined as the average number of years, which a person could be expected to live, if their rate of mortality at each age were those experienced in that calendar year. Projections are 2002-based.
Unless otherwise stated older people refers to those aged 50 years and over.
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