The global death toll during the Covid-19 pandemic was unprecedented in modern times. Recent data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) illustrates the impact of the devastating loss of life in the UK by enabling us to compare life expectancy before and during the pandemic. But what does this tell us about how long people can expect to live now?
Between 2017-19 and 2020-22, life expectancy fell from 79.3 to 78.6 years (so by 38 weeks) in males and from 83 to 82.6 years (23 weeks) in females. That means UK life expectancy slid back to levels last seen a decade ago. The 2020-22 average disguises the even sharper fall in the single year data for 2020, when life expectancy fell by 1.2 years in males and 1.6 years in females.
Subscribe to The New Statesman today from only £8.99 per month
Content from our partners
