DATA has revealed how long the average person is expected to live throughout different areas of the Tees Valley.

The most recent figures (from the years 2017 to 2019) were released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) last week and show the expected life expectancy from birth.

The average life expectancy rates across Stockton, Hartlepool and Redcar and Cleveland do not show a strong difference, but Middlesbrough has a lower figure for both males and females while Darlington's is slightly higher.

Women in Middlesbrough live 3.1 years less than the national average, while men live 4.2 years less.

Meanwhile, in Darlington, where people live the longest across the Tees Valley, women still live 0.8 less than the national average, while men live 0.7 less. 

Women live 2.3 years longer in Darlington compared to Middlesbrough, while men live 3.5 years longer. 

  • Darlington - 82.3 years for women, 78.7 for men 
  • Middlesbrough - 80 years for women, 75.2 for men
  • Stockton - 81.4 years for women, 78.1 for men
  • Hartlepool - 81.3 years for women, 76.8 for men
  • Redcar and Cleveland - 81.7 years for women, 77.9 for men

The stats are a measure of the average number of years people will live beyond their current age, with this data based on life expectancy at birth.

Average life expectancy at birth for women in the North-East is 81.6 and 77.9 for men - the lowest regional expectancy. The North-East was also lower than in Wales and Northern Ireland but higher than in Scotland.

Across the UK, life expectancy at birth was 83.1 years for women and 79.4 years for men; slight improvements from 2016 to 2018 of 7.3 weeks and 6.3 weeks respectively.

The relatively low increases suggest a continuation of a trend since 2011, where annual life expectancy improvements have slowed down in comparison with the previous decade.

Edward Morgan, Centre for Ageing and Demography, Office for National Statistics, said:  "The improvements in life expectancy at birth for males and females in the UK between 2016 to 2018 and 2017 to 2019, although lower than historical improvements prior to 2011, were the highest annual improvements for five years.

 "The gap in annual improvements in life expectancy at birth between males and females has been narrowing since 2013 to 2015.

"In 2017 to 2019, female life expectancy improvements were seen to slightly exceed those for males for the first time since the start of the published data series in 1981 to 1983. However, it is too early to say whether this is a trend that will continue into the future.

"The impact of Covid-19 on period life expectancy will be shown in the National life table for 2018 to 2020 which will be published in Autumn 2021. The National life tables 2017 to 2019 were produced using data up to the end of December 2019, and therefore precede the COVID-19 pandemic."

Figures are based on the number of deaths registered and mid-year population estimates, aggregated over three consecutive years.