Health is a topic that’s always on the news in the UK, whether about the current status of the NHS, how healthy the nation is or the latest medical breakthroughs. We gave the UK a health check by diving into the latest statistics on obesity, life expectancy, smoking and more. See all the statistics below or learn more about private health insurance.
The average life expectancy in the UK between 2020 and 2022 was 78.6 years for men and 82.6 for women. This number decreased from 2017 to 2019, when the average life expectancy for men was 79.3 years and 83 years for women.
On average, 1,597 people died per day in England and Wales in 2023, which is 11,180 over the average week. The highest average deaths per day in 2023 happened in the second week of January, with 2,483. In total, there were 581,346 registered deaths in 2023.
In 2024, there have been 145,704 registered deaths up until 22 March 2024. This is an average of 12,142 a week or 1,735 a day.
Around 1 in 8 adults in the UK (12.9%) smoke cigarettes as of 2022 – this equates to around 6.4 million people. This is the lowest proportion of smokers since records began in 2011. A higher proportion of men are smokers (14.6%) compared to women (11.2%).
The age group most likely to smoke is 25- to 34-year-olds, as 1 in 6 (16.3%) were smokers in 2022. They are followed by 35- to 44-year-olds (14.5%) and 45- to 54-year-olds (14.3%).
| Age group | Smokers | Non-smokers |
|---|---|---|
| 18-24 | 11.60% | 88.40% |
| 25-34 | 16.30% | 83.70% |
| 35-44 | 14.50% | 85.50% |
| 45-54 | 14.30% | 85.70% |
| 55-64 | 13.60% | 86.40% |
| 65+ | 8.30% | 91.70% |
The top cause of death in England and Wales in 2022 was dementia and Alzheimer’s disease, accounting for 65,967 deaths (11.5%). This was followed by ischaemic heart diseases, also known as coronary heart disease (10.3%), and chronic lower respiratory diseases (5.2%). COVID-19 was the fifth most common cause of death in 2022, accounting for 22,445 deaths (3.9%).
| Cause of death | Number of deaths | Percentage of deaths |
|---|---|---|
| Dementia and Alzheimers disease | 65,967 | 11.5% |
| Ischaemic heart diseases | 59,356 | 10.3% |
| Chronic lower respiratory diseases | 29,815 | 5.2% |
| Cerebrovascular diseases | 29,265 | 5.1% |
| Malignant neoplasm of trachea, bronchus and lung | 28,570 | 5.0% |
| COVID-19 | 22,445 | 3.9% |
A quarter of adults in England (26%) are classified as obese according to the latest statistics, which means they have a body mass index (BMI) of 30 or above. A further 2 in 5 adults in the UK (38%) are overweight but not obese. This means a total of around two-thirds of adults in the UK (64%) are either overweight or obese.
In 2021, total spending on healthcare in the UK was £280.7 billion, which equals £4,188 per person. This includes both government and non-government spending. Government spending on healthcare made up the majority of this expenditure (83%) at £233.1 billion.
Matt Mckenna
UK Head of Communications
T: +44 20 8191 8806
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