Difference between revisions of "Why Do Women Live Longer Than Men"

Revision as of 10:43, 13 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 longer than men in the present and why is this difference growing in the past? We only have partial evidence and the evidence isn't strong enough to make a definitive conclusion. Although we know that there are biological, behavioral, and environmental factors which play a significant role in women who live longer than males, it isn't clear how much each one contributes.

In spite of the precise weight, كيفية ممارسة العلاقة الزوجية فى الاسلام we know that at least part of the reason women live longer than men in the present but not in the past, is to have to do with the fact that some key non-biological factors have changed. The factors changing are numerous. Some are well known and relatively straightforward, like the fact that men smoke more often. Other are more complicated. For 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. We can see that all countries are above the diagonal parity line , which means that in every country baby girls can expect to live for longer than a new boy.1

The chart below shows that although there is a women's advantage throughout the world, the differences between countries are often significant. In Russia, women live for 10 years longer than men. In Bhutan there is a difference of just half a year.

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In countries with high incomes, the advantage of women in longevity was previously smaller.
Let's examine how the female longevity advantage has changed over time. The following chart shows male and female life expectancies when they were born in the US between 1790 and 2014. Two areas stand out.

First, there is an upward trend. Men and women in America have longer lives than they did a century ago. This is in line with historical increases in life expectancy everywhere in the world.

Second, the gap is growing: Although the advantage of women in terms of life expectancy was tiny but it has risen significantly over time.

You can check if these principles are also applicable to other countries that have information by clicking on the "Change country" option in the chart. This includes the UK, France, and Sweden.