Baby girls from well-off districts can expect to enjoy good health for nearly 20 years longer than those in the poorest towns and suburbs , according to an official analysis . It found that a newborn girl in one of the top 10 per cent of wealthy areas will live 71.3 years before her life is limited by chronic illness or disability . But a girl born in one of the bottom 10 per cent of the most deprived areas can expect only 52.4 years of life in good health . Lottery : Babies born living in the top 10 per cent of wealthy areas can expect to live up to 20 years longer without disability or chronic illness , than those in poorer areas . Baby girls in wealthy areas can expect to live healthy lives the longest . The difference means the well-off girl is likely to have a healthy life more than a third longer than that of a girl from a poor district . The figures for boys are highly similar , according to the findings charted by the Office for National Statistics . They provoked protests from poverty pressure groups , which compared health inequality in Britain with health levels in Third World countries , and complained that the wealth gap is now dragging down the health of the entire British population . World Health Organisation figures on healthy life expectancy appear to show that men and women in Rwanda can expect to live healthily to 55 and 56 respectively . The same figures , from the Global Health Observatory Data Repository , show men and women in Romania will enjoy good health to 63 and 69 , while those in Russia can expect to live to 57 and 66 without serious health issues . Poor health : Baby boys born in the most deprived areas of Britain have the worst prospects having just 52.2 years of healthy living . The ONS findings for the UK say that healthy life expectancy is at its worst in the very poorest areas of the country – usually those with high levels of worklessness , benefit dependency and alcohol , tobacco and drug consumption – and that for four fifths of the population the health gap between the best off and the rest is much less marked . The figures were calculated from the ONS Annual Population Survey which checks on the lives of 320,000 people a year . For men , it said that boys born in the most deprived suburbs can expect 52.2 years of good health , compared to 70.5 years for those born in the best-off areas . It said that if the figures were adjusted by measures designed to take into account income across the population rather than just in extremely poor or rich districts , the gaps were wider – 19.5 years for women as opposed to 18.9 , and 19.1 years for men as opposed to 18.3 . The ONS figures showed that , above the poorest fifth of areas , newborn girls can all expect almost 60 years of healthy life or more , and boys more than 58 years . Alison Garnham , chief executive of Child Poverty Action Group , said : ‘ The statistics lay bare what poverty and deprivation does to children here in the UK – it damages their health and shortens lives . Politicians of all parties need to act. ’ Comparisons with Third World countries were made by the Equality Trust campaign group . Its director Duncan Exley said : ‘ The UK is one of the most unequal countries in the developed world . This is damaging our health , our social bonds and our economy. ’ The ONS figures are based on an analysis of nearly 33,000 neighbourhoods across England , but no individual district is named .
Girls born in wealthiest areas will live over just 52 years before chronic illness . This is compared to 70 years in most deprived areas of Britain . Office of National Statistics figures showed outlook similar for males . Healthy life expectancy in most deprived areas worse than Third World .