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Vital Events Reference Tables 2006

Section 5: Deaths

The information presented on life expectancy in Table 5.4 and Table 5.5 is produced by the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Previous to 2005 it was produced by the Government Actuary Department.

Life expectancy, or expectation of life, is the average number of additional years a person could expect to live.

Table 5.4 shows life expectancy in Scotland from the 19th Century through to the present day and Table 5.5 contains the most recent life expectancy figures for males and females at a variety of different ages. Both are based on mortality rates calculated over a three year period (this is done in order to smooth out fluctuations in mortality which can occur between calendar years).

Life expectancy in Table 5.5 is calculated on what is termed a 'period basis', this means that the number of years a person can expect to live is dependent upon he, or she, experiencing the age-specific mortality rates for that time period throughout his or her life (it does not allow for future changes in the mortality rate).

For life expectancy not present in Table 5.4 or Table 5.5 or complete life tables for earlier years, for further information on life expectancy please contact either Statistics Customer services using our contact form or ONS using the Contact National Statistics section of their website.

The General Register Office for Scotland now calculates life expectancy for administrative areas and special areas within Scotland, publications on which can be found in the life expectancy section of this website.

Note: The tables below have been made available as Excel spreadsheet files and can be viewed in Adobe Acrobat Portable Document Format (pdf) or Comma Separated Value (CSV). When opening the spreadsheet files your browser, depending on how it's been configured, will prompt to either open the file or save it to disk. Maximum file size is 68 Kb.

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