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 so longer than men and how has this advantage increased over time? The evidence is sketchy and we only have partial answers. Although we know that there are biological, psychological and environmental factors which all play a part in the longevity of women over males, it isn't clear the extent to which each factor plays a role.

We have learned that women are living longer than men, regardless of weight. But this is not due to the fact that certain 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 above the diagonal line of parity. This implies that a baby girl from every country could be expected to live for longer than her older brother.

This chart shows that, although there is a women's advantage across all countries, differences between countries could be significant. In Russia women live 10 years longer than men. In Bhutan there is a difference of just half a year.

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The advantage women had in life expectancy was smaller in developed countries that it is today.
Let's look at how female longevity advantage has changed in the course of time. The next chart plots the life expectancy of males and females at birth in the US between 1790 and اوضاع الجماع 2014. Two specific points stand out.

The first is that there is an upward trend. Both men and women in the US are living much, much longer than they did a century ago. This is in line with historical increases in life expectancy everywhere in the world.

The second is that there is an ever-widening gap: female advantage in life expectancy used be quite small but it increased substantially during the last century.

You can check if these principles are also applicable to other countries with data by selecting the "Change country" option on the chart. This includes the UK, France, and Sweden.