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Britons have been warned that they face shorter lives based on where they live after new figures revealed which areas saw the most people die before the age of 60.
People in Blackpool are four times more likely to die before they turn 60 compared to residents of Hart in Hampshire.
Glasgow, Dundee and Middlesbrough are among the other parts of the country where lives are cut short the earliest, while London suburbs such as Richmond upon Thames and Kensington and Chelsea see most people live past 60.
New research from Health Equals has called on the government to tackle the ‘postcode lottery’ and stop ‘avoidable’ deaths.
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Subway has been exclusively provided with a complete breakdown of how each area compares, which we’ve turned into an interactive map.
The analysis shows that as a whole one in 13 people will die before they turn 60 in the UK.
However, in Blackpool this figure is as high as one in seven, while for Glaswegians it is one in eight.
The outlook is also bleak for people in Merthyr Tydfil, Wales, and Dundee, where one in eight is also dead by 60.
Areas where the highest number of people die around 60
Blackpool – 14.7%
Glasgow – 12.8%
Merthyr Tydfil – 12.7%
Dundee City – 12.6%
North Ayrshire – 12.5%
Middlesbrough – 12.3%
North Lanarkshire – 12.2%
East Ayrshire – 12.0%
West Dunbartonshire – 11/8%
Inverclyde – 11.7%
This rate contrasts dramatically with leafy cities and suburbs in the south of England.
As few as 4% – just one in 25 – die before age 60 in Hart, Hampshire.
Uttlesford (one in 23) and Surrey Heath (one in 22) have the highest survival rates, alongside areas of London such as Richmond upon Thames (one in 22) and Kensington and Chelsea (one in 21).
These figures were calculated using mortality data from the Office for National Statistics, monitoring deaths from 2022 to 2024.
Labor MP Allison Gardner, whose own constituency of Stoke-on-Trent has a death rate of 60 to 1 in 10, called on her party to act on health inequalities.
She said Subway: ‘No one should be faced with poor health and a shorter life simply because they live.
‘This Labor government has pledged to raise the healthiest generation ever, through a cross-government health mission, and a shift to stop us getting sick.
“We need this to happen now, with a clear strategy that ensures all government departments are working towards a healthier society. We have an opportunity to address the wider factors that shape health and ensure that everyone has a fair chance to live a longer and healthier life.’
Areas where the least number of people die around 60
Hard – 4%
Uttlesford – 4.4%
Surrey Heath – 4.5%
Richmond upon Thames – 4.5%
Wokingham – 4.6%
Sevenoaks – 4.7%
Waverley – 4.7%
Winchester – 4.8%
Tandridge – 4.8%
Kensington and Chelsea – 4.8%
Paul McDonald, director at Health Equals, said: ‘Your postcode should not determine your shelf life. But in Britain it is.
“Behind every statistic is a person, a family and a community experiencing loss that is often avoidable. We should not accept a country where your chances of reaching 60 are so strongly influenced by where you live.
‘If governments want growth and opportunity in every postcode, they must also deliver the basics of good health in every postcode.’
The revelations come after a landmark report revealed shocking inequalities faced by children depending on where they grew up.
The report, by Children’s Commissioner Dame Rachel de Souza, found that youngsters in Blackpool are 27 times more likely to miss school than those in Lambeth, south London, and 46 times more likely to be excluded than those in Wiltshire.
In Richmond on Thames 70% of pupils get a good pass in English and Maths GCSE but only almost 31% in Knowsley near Liverpool.
A spokesman for the Department of Health and Social Care said: ‘Someone’s postcode should never dictate how long they live, and this Government is determined to tackle the stark inequalities that still exist in our country, and half the gap in healthy life expectancy between the richest and poorest regions.
“We are already taking action, including delivering new Neighborhood Health Centers in the areas that need them most, but we will now go further to devolve power to local communities, put decision-making in the hands of those who know their areas best, and drive lasting change across the country.”
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