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. What's the reason women are more likely to live longer than men? What is the reason does this benefit increase over time? There is only limited evidence and the evidence is not sufficient to reach a definitive conclusion. While we are aware that there are biological, behavioral and environmental variables that play an integral role in the longevity of women over males, we aren't sure the extent to which each factor plays a role.

In spite of how much amount, we can say that at least a portion of the reason women live so much longer than men do today however not as in the past, is to relate to the fact that certain key non-biological factors have changed. What are these factors that have changed? Some are well known and relatively straightforward, 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. It is clear that every country is over the line of parity diagonally. This means that a newborn girl in all countries can be expected to live for longer than her younger brother.

The chart below shows that although women have an advantage throughout the world, the differences between countries could be significant. In Russia women live 10 years longer than males. In Bhutan, the difference is only half a year.

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The advantage for women in life expectancy was smaller in countries with higher incomes as compared to the present.
Let's now look at how the female advantage in longevity has changed with time. The next chart shows male and female life expectancy when they were born in the US over the period 1790-2014. Two distinct points stand out.

First, there is an upward trend. Women and كيفية ممارسة العلاقة الزوجية فى الاسلام men living in America are living longer than they were 100 years ago. This is in line with historical increases in life expectancy everywhere in the world.

The gap is widening: While the advantage of women in life expectancy was once tiny but it has risen significantly over time.

It is possible to verify that these are applicable to other countries that have data by selecting the "Change country" option in the chart. This includes the UK, France, and Sweden.