Difference between revisions of "Why Do Women Have Longer Lives Than Men"

Revision as of 18:40, 11 January 2022

Everywhere in the world women live longer than men - but this was not always the case. The available data from rich countries shows that women didn't live longer than men in the 19th century. Why do women live so much longer than men today and how is this difference growing in the past? There isn't much evidence and we're only able to provide some solutions. While we are aware that there are biological, psychological, and environmental factors that play an integral role in women living longer than men, we don't know what percentage each factor plays in.

In spite of the precise amount of weight, we are aware that at least part of the reason why women live longer than men do today, اوضاع الجماع but not previously, is to be due to the fact that some significant non-biological elements have changed. These variables are evolving. Some are well known and relatively straightforward, like the fact that men smoke more often. Others are more complex. For اوضاع الجماع example, there is evidence that in rich countries the female advantage increased in part because infectious diseases used to affect women disproportionately a century ago, so advances in medicine that reduced the long-term health burden from infectious diseases, especially for survivors, ended up raising women's longevity disproportionately.

Everywhere in the world women tend to live longer than men
The first chart below shows life expectancy at birth for men and women. It is clear that all countries are above the diagonal line of parity. This implies that a baby girl in all countries can anticipate to live longer than her younger brother.

The chart below shows that even though women enjoy an advantage across all countries, differences between countries are often significant. In Russia women live 10 years longer than men. In Bhutan, the difference is just half a year.

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The female advantage in terms of life expectancy was lower in rich countries than it is now.
Let's look at how the female advantage in life expectancy has changed over time. The chart below illustrates the men and women's life expectancies at the birth in the US from 1790 until 2014. Two things stand out.

The first is that there is an upward trend. Both men and women in the US are living much, much longer than they did a century ago. This is in line with historical increases in life expectancy everywhere in the world.

Second, the gap is widening: While the advantage of women in life expectancy was quite small but it has risen significantly in the past.

You can check if the points you've listed are applicable to other countries that have data by clicking the "Change country" option on the chart. This includes the UK, France, and Sweden.