Where do people in Scotland live the longest and healthiest lives? All 32 council areas ranked

The number of years a person can expect to spend in good health in Scotland is declining, according to figures published on Thursday by the National Records of Scotland.

Healthy life expectancy is the proportion of life that people are estimated to spend in good general health, and is an important measure to understand not just how long people are living but how long they can expect to live while still being in “very good” or “good” general health.

The new data shows that healthy life expectancy has been shrinking in Scotland over the last decade, with women having lost almost four years of healthy life expectancy and males three years since 2014-2016.

The latest figures for 2022 to 2024 show healthy life expectancy in Scotland is now 59.4 years for women and 59.1 years for men.

Shockingly, the data shows a significant gap between healthy life expectancy in the most and least deprived areas.

Women in the most deprived areas are expected to spend 26.7 years less in good health than women in the least deprived areas.

Meanwhile, men in the most deprived areas are expected to spend 25.6 years less in good health than men in the least deprived areas.

Head of vital events statistics for NRS Phillipa Haxton said: “While life expectancy increased to around pre-pandemic levels for both females and males, healthy life expectancy has not increased.

“This means people are likely to be spending a greater proportion of their life in poor health than in previous years.

“The gap between the most and least deprived communities is even more stark for this measure than it is for life expectancy.”

The data shows there is a wide gap between the highest and lowest healthy life expectancies by council area for both men and women - with healthy life expectancy highest in rural areas and lower in more urban areas for both sexes.

Here’s how Scotland’s council areas are ranked, from highest to lowest.