Health in England

Health in England refers to the overall health of the population of England. The average life expectancy is 77.5 years for males and 81.7 years for females, the highest of the four countries of the United Kingdom. The south of England has a higher life expectancy than the north, but regional differences seem to be slowly narrowing: between 1991–1993 and 2012–2014, life expectancy in the North East increased by 6.0 years and in the North West by 5.8 years.

The Blair Government instituted a comprehensive programme to reduce health inequalities in England between 1997 and 2010 focused on reducing geographical inequalities in life expectancy. It was targeted at the Spearhead areas - the 20% of local authorities with the worst health and deprivation indicators. This led to more NHS resources being directed to the most deprived areas. The strategy was associated with a decline in geographical inequalities in life expectancy, reversing a trend which had increased over a long period. In 2014 to 2016, the difference in life expectancy between the most and least deprived areas of England was 9.3 years for males and 7.3 years for females.