MEN and women in East Lothian are expected to live longer than the national average.

New figures, released by National Records of Scotland, show life expectancy figures for the country continue to rise.

Based on statistics covering 2011-2013, the report breaks down further the estimates published at a national level in August, which showed that life expectancy is now 76.9 years for men and 81 years for women in Scotland.

Based on East Lothian’s figures, men can expect to live until 78.5 years while women are also above the national average at 81.6 years. The figure for men is the highest in any of the Lothians and Edinburgh but slightly lower than the Scottish Borders (79.3 years).

Meanwhile, for women, the figure is fractionally lower than Midlothian (81.7 years), Edinburgh (81.9) and the Scottish Borders (82.4) but higher than West Lothian (80.2).

A council spokeswoman said: “Life expectancy rates reflect a range of complex factors but the growing popularity of East Lothian as a place to live and retire to suggests the county has much to offer for a healthier lifestyle.” Tim Ellis, chief executive of National Records of Scotland, said: “People living in rural areas, in general, live longer than those in more urban areas.”