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 main reason women live longer than men? And how has this advantage gotten larger in the past? There isn't much evidence and we're only able to provide partial answers. Although we know that there are biological, psychological and environmental variables that play an integral role in women living longer than men, we don't know the extent to which each factor plays a role.

In spite of the precise amount of weight, we are aware that at least a portion of the reason women live longer than men do today, but not previously, is to have to do with the fact that several key non-biological factors have changed. These are the factors that are changing. Some are well known and relatively straightforward, العاب زوجية 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. It is clear that every country is above the line of parity diagonally. This implies that a baby girl from every country could be expected to live for longer than her younger brother.

This graph shows that even though women enjoy an advantage in all countries, the differences across countries are often significant. In Russia women live for 10 years longer than males. In Bhutan there is a difference of only half a year.

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In wealthy countries, the female advantage in longevity was previously smaller.
Let's take a look at how the female longevity advantage has changed in the course of time. The next chart plots the life expectancy of males and females when they were born in the US between 1790 and 2014. Two specific points stand out.

First, there is an upward trend. Women and men in the United States live longer than they used to 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 tiny however, it has grown significantly over time.

If you select the option "Change country from the chart, you are able to confirm that the two points are applicable to the other countries having available data: Sweden, France and the UK.