Women in England’s poorest areas die younger than in most OECD countries
Women in the poorest areas of England are dying earlier than the average female in almost every comparable country in the world, according to a damning analysis of life expectancy data that MPs and leading health experts have called “shocking”, “devastating” and “unacceptable”.
Millions of women living in the most deprived areas of England can expect to live 78.7 years, almost eight years fewer than those living in England’s wealthiest areas, the Health Foundation has discovered.
It is worse than the average life expectancy for women in every single one of the world’s OECD countries except Mexico.
The stark analysis, seen by the Guardian, also reveals that the average life expectancy for all women across England and the UK is lower than the global OECD average. The UK ranks 25th out of 38 OECD countries when it comes to the number of years a woman can expect to live.
Ministers have repeatedly promised to tackle decades of gender inequality and pledged to “reset the dial” on women’s health as part of their levelling-up agenda.
But experts say the findings show the government has a “mountain to climb”, with a “fundamental shift” in policy urgently needed to enable women to enjoy longer, healthier lives.
“The government has committed to addressing stalling life expectancy and this has been described as a core part of the levelling up agenda,” said Jo Bibby, the director of health at the Health Foundation.
“However, it has so far failed to acknowledge the mountain it needs to climb to bring life chances in the UK in line with other comparable countries.”
Women living in the 10% most deprived parts of England have a lower life expectancy than the average woman in countries such as Colombia (79.8 years), Latvia (79.7 years) and
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