Why Do Women Have Longer Lives Than Men

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 longer than men in the present, and why does this benefit increase in the past? The evidence isn't conclusive and we have only some answers. While we are aware that there are biological, behavioral and environmental factors which all play a part in the longevity of women over males, we aren't sure what percentage each factor plays in.

In spite of the precise amount of weight, we are aware that at least part of the reason women live longer than men today, but not in the past, has to relate to the fact that some important non-biological aspects have changed. The factors changing are numerous. Some are well known and relatively straightforward, like the fact that men smoke more often. Others are more complex. For example, علامات الحمل بولد 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 every country is above the diagonal line of parity. This means that a newborn girl from any country can anticipate to live longer than her younger brother.

It is interesting to note that although the female advantage exists in all countries, difference between countries is huge. In Russia women have a longer life span than men. In Bhutan the gap is less than half an hour.

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In wealthy countries, the advantage of women in longevity used to be smaller
Let's examine how the female longevity advantage has changed in the course of time. The following chart shows the gender-based and female-specific life expectancy at birth in the US from 1790 to 2014. Two areas stand out.

The first is that there is an upward trend. Both genders living in America are living longer than they did a century ago. This is in line with historical increases in life expectancy everywhere in the world.

The gap is widening: While the female advantage in life expectancy was once quite small but it has risen significantly in the past.

Using the option 'Change country' on the chart, you will be able to confirm that the two points apply to other countries that have available data: Sweden, France and the UK.