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Health overview

Health can be thought of and measured in many ways, as positive or negative well-being/mental health, length of life, absence of disease, freedom from disability, mortality, and in terms of lifestyle and behaviour. 

Our overview of health in Glasgow shows that, while health in Glasgow has improved over the last two centuries and as a result Glaswegians are living longer than ever before, comparatively the city has one of the poorest health profiles of any Scottish or UK city. This is in part because improvements in health have lagged behind other comparable cities in the UK. Recent stalling life expectancy trends, linked to UK austerity policies, have been followed by sharp drops in life expectancy across the UK caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.   

Health infographicClick here to download the health infographic.

The following summary provides some of the key health statistics for Glasgow:

  • Since the early 1990s, estimated male life expectancy at birth in the city increased by 4.7 years (from 68.2 years to 72.9 years) and by three years for females (from 75 years to 78 years). 
  • In the latest period reported (2020-22), male life expectancy at birth was 3.6 years less than in Scotland as a whole, while Glaswegian women were predicted to live for 2.5 years less on average.
  • Glasgow has the lowest healthy life expectancy (HLE) in Scotland, with men estimated to live for 56 years in good health and women for 57.4 years (2018-20). 
  • There are wide geographic (and socio-economic) health inequalities exemplified by a large gap in life expectancy at birth across Glasgow’s neighbourhoods. Inequalities in life expectancy which have widened further in the last two decades. Male life expectancy is 15.4 years lower in the 10% of most deprived areas of Glasgow compared to the 10% of least deprived of the city, and the equivalent gap for women has widened to 11.6 years (in the period 2017-19).   
  • Glaswegian men and women have the lowest healthy life expectancy in Scotland compared to other local authorities. The predicted period of life spent 'not in good health' is 16.7 years for men and 20 years for women (in the period 2009-2013).
  • Mental well-being has been consistently lower in Glasgow than in other Scottish cities.

(Sources: GCPH, National Records of Scotland, Office for National Statistics, Scottish Health Survey, ScotPHO)

In the health domain of Understanding Glasgow, we illustrate health trends and compare health within the city and with other areas. The indicators we show include life expectancy, healthy life expectancy, mental well-being, life satisfaction and suicide. There are also pages on alcohol, smoking, drugs and physical activity.  

In March 2016 the GCPH published Glasgow: health in a changing city, a report that examined life expectancy trends and inequalities in the city over the last two decades. The study also described changes in population, housing, environmental and socio-economic circumstances at a city and neighbourhood level.

Research on the impact of austerity on mortality and life expectancy can be accessed on the GCPH website. The most recent paper on the likely impact of UK austerity policies was published in October 2022: ‘Bearing the burden of austerity: how do changing mortality rates in the UK compare between men and women?

The children's indicators section of Understanding Glasgow contains more detailed information on aspects of the children's health and wellbeing within Glasgow. Information on births and deaths is included in the population section.

Information on a range of health and health related indicators – cultural factors, environmental, socio-economic, education and poverty-related – at a neighbourhood level within Glasgow are available in our profile section.

The data on the Understanding Glasgow website comes from a variety of administrative sources and surveys, and the frequency of updates to these sources varies. The graphs and text on each page should indicate the period to which an indicator refers. In some cases, where more recently published data is not available, we still use older published sources, such as the 2011 Census. 

This page was last updated in October 2022.