Women in the poorest parts of Merseyside die younger than women in all OECD countries except Mexico.
New research from the Health Foundation compared life expectancy in England and the whole UK with that in 37 member states of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. While the UK is 25th and England is 26th when OECD countries are ranked by life expectancy, a "concerning picture emerges" when the difference between England's rich and poor is analysed, according to the foundation's director of health, Jo Bibby.
Life expectancy of women in England's poorest areas puts them second in the ranking, while life expectancy in the country's poorest 10% of areas is higher only than Mexico, coming just behind Colombia, Latvia and Hungary. Women in these areas of England face a life expectancy of birth of 78.7 years, below the English average of 83.2 years. In the richest 10% of areas, women can expect to live almost eight years longer, with an average life expectancy of 86.4 years, lower only than Japan.
