Islanders can expect to live longer than England counterparts

Friday 20 October 2023

Jersey and Guernsey head the British Isles league table for life expectancy, a new Government report shows.

Islanders born today can expect to live on average two years longer than their counterparts in England, according to the Public Health report which shows that average life expectancy in Jersey has increased over the past decade and now stands at 83.4 years – 84.9 years for women and 81.8 for men.

This puts the island – along with Guernsey – ahead of the Isle of Man, England, Northern Ireland, Wales and Scotland.

Meanwhile, islanders reaching the age of 65 today can expect to live on average for another 21.4 years.

Public Health director Professor Peter Bradley welcomed the latest life-expectancy report – which shows an increase in life expectancy over the past ten years of 2.8 and 1.3 years for men and women respectively – as “encouraging”.

He cautioned against drawing conclusions from an apparent slight drop in life expectancy between 2019-2021 and 2020-2022 which he said was “quite small and not enough to conclude a great deal from”.

Pictured: Professor Peter Bradley, Jersey's Director of Public Health.

Professor Bradley said: “As an island, we have had a difficult few years. However, we are committed to supporting islanders with their health and wellbeing which will help us all live longer, healthier lives. Life expectancy in Jersey is now slightly higher than it was a decade ago.

“Our recently published Public Health Strategy sets out how we will support islanders to live longer, healthier lives, through innovation, joint working, and understanding the drivers of poor health locally.”

Jersey's average life expectancy of 83.4 years was around one year higher than the South West, one of England’s best-performing regions, according to the latest available English data between 2018 and 2020.

When compared with Guernsey, women in Jersey were slightly worse off, with a life expectancy of 84.9 to Sarnians’ 85.3 years. But Jersey men were in a better position, with the local figure of 81.8 years, half a year higher than Guernsey’s statistics.

Life-expectancy figures are calculated by applying age-specific mortality rates to population estimates by age and gender. Data allows estimates to be made for all age groups within the population with Jersey’s figures aggregated over a three-year period.