Life expectancy in Scotland is going up but still sits only slightly above some of the poorest eastern European countries.

Life expectancy in Scotland is going up but still sits only slightly above some of the poorest eastern European countries.

Girls born in Scotland will now live just over two years longer than those who were born a decade ago, with female life expectancy now estimated to be 79.7 years. The life expectancy at birth for males is now 74.8 - again, just over two years higher than the last estimate.

Despite the improvements, revealed in figures released by the Scottish Government yesterday, the figures mask vast inequalities in the length of life enjoyed by Scots in different areas of the country.

Glasgow men have the lowest life expectancy in the country, at 70.8 years - more than seven years less than men in the neighbouring region of East Dunbartonshire.

Women in the city will live until they are just over 77 but in Shetland it is estimated that a girl born today will live until she is more than 82 years old.

Yesterday, Shetland NHS said that good community spirit and low deprivation were key to the longer lives enjoyed on the isles.

However, the statistics show that Scotland has one of the lowest life expectancies of any country in western Europe, with male rates similar to those in Slovenia, Czech Republic and Poland. Females in Poland and Estonia will live roughly the same length of time as a Scottish woman.

Public Health Minister Shona Robison said that £15m of new funding was aimed at addressing the social influences on health, including education, poverty, education and employment. This adds to £1.8bn already earmarked for the next three years.

Previous studies have revealed the huge gulf in life expectancy in the Glasgow area.

A report by the World Health Organisation found that a boy growing up in the city's Calton could expect to live for 28 years less than if he had been born in Lenzie, around eight miles away. Ahead of Calton's male life expectancy of 54 are countries such as India, Lithuania, Poland and Mexico.