Life expectancy in Northern Ireland has returned to pre-pandemic levels with women continuing to live longer than men on average.
New statistics published by the Department of Health have revealed that between 2021-2023, life expectancy here was 78.8 years for men and 82.5 years for women.
The department said life expectancy has increased over a 41 year period since 1980/82, with the figure rising by 7 years for women and 9.6 years for men.
However the statistics show life expectancy growth has slowed over the past decade for both males and females.
They said following a slight decrease in life expectancies between 2017-19 and 2020-22, life expectancy has since returned to pre-pandemic levels.
In 2021-23, life expectancy at age 65 in Northern Ireland was 18.5 years for men and 20.7 years for women, with no significant change over the last five years.
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The figures produced also looked at the quality of life men and women were living with in Northern Ireland.
According to the most recent statistics men could expect to live 60.3 years in good health compared with 59.2 years in 2017-19.
Meanwhile the Healthy Life Expectancy (HLE) among women stood at 61.4 years in 2021-23, although similar to men, there was no significant change over the last five years.
Looking at the level of those living without a disability, women could expect to live 57.4 years in 2021-23 free of disability, compared with 58.4 years in 2017-19, with men expecting to live 58.2 years free of disability, compared with 57.9 years in 2017-19.
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News Catch Up: Monday 2nd December