Why Women Are More Likely To 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. Why do women live longer than men in the present, and why is this difference growing in the past? There is only limited evidence and the evidence is not sufficient to support an absolute conclusion. 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 the extent to which each factor plays a role.

We know that women live longer than men, regardless of their weight. But this isn't because of certain non-biological aspects have changed. What are these changing factors? Some are well known and relatively straightforward, like the fact that men smoke more often. Others are more complex. For example, زيوت تطويل الشعر 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 line of parity diagonally. This implies that a baby girl from every country could be expected to live for longer than her brother.

This chart shows that, although there is a women's advantage across all countries, differences between countries can be substantial. In Russia women have an average of 10 years more than men, while in Bhutan the gap is just half a year.

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In countries with high incomes, the women's advantage in longevity was not as great.
Let's look at how the female advantage in longevity has changed over time. The next chart compares male and female life expectancies when they were born in the US during the time period between 1790 and 2014. Two things stand out.

First, there is an upward trend. Men as well as women in the US live much, much longer today than a century ago. This is in line with historical increases in life expectancy everywhere in the world.

The gap is getting wider: Although the advantage of women in life expectancy was very small It has significantly increased with time.

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