An interactive tool has given a fascinating insight into life expectancy - as official figures showed improvements are slowing down.

The Office for National Statistics has produced an online gadget that estimates how long you have left based on your current age and gender.

It uses new projections from the stats body, suggesting that a baby boy born in 2023 could expect to live on average to 86.7 years.

Girls still have a longer anticipated lifespan of 90 years, although the gap has been narrowing.

The 2047 cohort of boys are expected to live to 89.3 on average, and 92.2 for girls. 

That is a year lower for males and six months lower than the ONS pencilled in based on 2020 projections - reflecting less progress being made on mortality than hoped.

But the data underlines the incremental increases over time, with children of the 1990s having a life expectancy at birth several years longer than the cohort from the 1980s.    

People who were aged 65 in 2023 can expect to live on average a further 19.8 years for men, and 22.5 years for women.

That timespan is projected to rise to 21.8 years and 24.4 years respectively by 2047.

Among the 2023 cohort, 11.5 per cent of boys and 17.9 per cent of girls are seen as likely to live to see 100. 

That is set to increase to 17.3 per cent and 24.7 per cent by 2047.

But the previous 2020-based projections estimated a 21.5 per cent and 27.7 per cent of those born in 2047 becoming a centenarian. 

The figures also highlight the variation between the UK nations, with life expectancy for boys born in Scotland in 2023 put at 86.9 years - two years less than those born in England.

The ONS produces estimates of life expectancy based on assumptions about future changes in mortality rates, based on previous trends. 

The 'principal' projection assumes that life expectancy will increase by 1.1 per cent a year for males and females aged zero to 90 years.

But that is lower than the 1.2 per cent used in 2022-based figures - with the ONS saying it 'reflects that mortality improvements have been consistently slower for more than 10 years and follows advice from our mortality experts about future rates of improvement' 

The ONS also considers a 'low' improvement scenario of just 0.5 per cent.