Life expectancy in Mansfield increases

It contrasts with the picture across the UK, where life expectancy for males has dropped for the first time since current records began and barely changed for females.

Statisticians have blamed the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, but said the figures do not necessarily mean those born in recent years will live a shorter life.

Office for National Statistics data shows in Mansfield, a boy born in 2018-20 is expected to live until they are 78, up from 77.7 in 2015-17.

Meanwhile, life expectancy from birth for females rose from 81.1 to 81.5 between the two periods.

The data shows that in Ashfield, a girl born in 2018-2020 is expected to live until they are 81.5, down from 81.6 for those born in 2015-17. The life expectancy for boys is unchanged, at 78.2

Life expectancy for girls in Newark & Sherwood has also dropped, from 82.9 to 82.7, with boys unchanged at 79.8.

Across the UK, a baby boy born in 2018-20 is expected to live until he is 79, down from 79.2 for 2015-17, while a girl born in 2018-20 is estimated to live for 82.9 years, the same as in 2015-17.

Impact

The figures reflect the pandemic’s impact, the ONS said, which led to a greater number of deaths than usual last year.

Pamela Cobb, of the ONS centre for ageing and demography, said: “Life expectancy has increased in the UK over the last 40 years.

“However, the pandemic led to a greater number of deaths than normal in 2020.

“Consequently, in the latest estimates, we see virtually no improvement in life expectancy for women, while for men life expectancy has fallen back to levels reported for 2012-14.

“This is the first time we have seen a decline when comparing non-overlapping time periods since the series began in the early 1980s.”

The ONS also said the figures did not necessarily mean a baby born in 2018-20 will live a shorter life, with the estimates based on the ‘unusually high’ levels of deaths.

Across the East Midlands, male life expectancy fell by 11 weeks, to 79.2 years, while life expectancy for girls rose by seven weeks, to 82.9.

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