Why Are Women Living 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 is the reason women have a longer life span than men? What is the reason is this difference growing as time passes? There is only limited evidence and the evidence isn't strong enough to make a definitive conclusion. While we are aware that there are biological, behavioral and environmental factors which play a significant role in the longevity of women over men, we do not know what percentage each factor plays in.

In spite of the amount, we can say that at least a portion of the reason why women live longer than men today however not as previously, is to do with the fact that a number of fundamental non-biological factors have changed. These variables are evolving. Some are well known and relatively straightforward, like the fact that men smoke more often. Others are more complex. 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 every country is above the diagonal parity line , which means that in every country a newborn girl can expect to live for longer than a new boy.1

This chart shows that, تحاميل مهبلية although women have an advantage across all countries, differences between countries could be significant. In Russia women live 10 years longer than males; while in Bhutan the gap is just half an hour.

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The advantage of women in life expectancy was much lower in developed countries than it is now.
Let's look at how the gender advantage in longevity has changed with time. The next chart shows the life expectancy of males and females when they were born in the US over the period 1790-2014. Two distinct features stand out.

The first is that there is an upward trend. Both genders living in America are living longer than they did 100 years ago. This is in line with historical increases in life expectancy everywhere in the world.

The gap is increasing: While the advantage of women in terms of life expectancy was tiny however, it has grown significantly over time.

You can confirm that the points you've listed are applicable to other countries with data by selecting the "Change country" option on the chart. This includes the UK, France, and Sweden.