EDINBURGH, Scotland, Aug. 7 (UPI) -- Natives of Edinburgh, the Scottish capital, have a life expectancy several years longer than those born in the largest city, Glasgow, new figures showed.
Figures released Friday by the Registrar General also showed Scotland trails the rest of Western Europe in life expectancy, The Scotsman reported. Scottish men live an average of 75.3 years, while the average for the European Union is 76.1 years. Scottish women live an average of 80.1 years, two years less than the EU average of 82.2.
Only some Eastern European countries in the EU have lower life expectancy than Scotland.
But one of the most glaring differences is the one between Edinburgh and Glasgow, two cities that are less than an hour apart by local train. Glaswegian men have an average life expectancy of 70.7 years, almost 6 years less than the 76.5 in Edinburgh, while for women the figures are 77.2 in Glasgow and 81.4 in Edinburgh.
Frank McAveety, a Labor member of the Scottish Parliament representing a Glasgow district, is unhappy about those figures. "These figures should serve as a wakeup call to politicians that we need to redouble our efforts to fight poverty," he said.
