Why Do Women Live Longer 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. What's the reason women have a longer life span than men? What is the reason does this benefit increase as time passes? The evidence is sketchy and we're only able to provide incomplete answers. While we are aware that there are biological, behavioral and environmental variables which play a significant role in women's longevity more than males, it isn't clear what percentage each factor plays in.

In spite of the precise amount, we can say that a large portion of the reason women live longer than men today, but not previously, is to have to do with the fact that several important non-biological aspects have changed. The factors changing are numerous. Some are well known and relatively straightforward, اضيق وضعية للجماع like the fact that men smoke more often. There are other issues that are more intricate. 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. As you can see, all countries are above the diagonal parity line , this means that in all countries that a baby girl can be expected to live for longer than a new boy.1

The chart below shows that although there is a women's advantage everywhere, cross-country differences can be substantial. In Russia women live 10 years longer than men, while in Bhutan the difference is just half one year.

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In wealthy countries, 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 the gender-based and female-specific life expectancy at birth in the US during the period 1790 to 2014. Two things stand out.

There is an upward trend. Both genders in America live longer than they were a century ago. This is in line with historical increases in life expectancy everywhere in the world.

The gap is increasing: While the female advantage in life expectancy was very small but it has risen significantly with time.

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