Why Do Women 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, and why is this difference growing in the past? The evidence is limited and we only have some solutions. Although we know that there are biological, behavioral and environmental factors which all play a part in the longevity of women over men, we do not know how much each one contributes.

It is known 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. The factors changing are numerous. Some are well known and relatively straightforward, like the fact that men smoke more often. Others are more complicated. For اوضاع الجماع - Read Home Page, 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 all countries are above the line of parity diagonally. This means that a newborn girl in all countries can be expected to live for longer than her brother.

Interestingly, this chart shows that although the female advantage exists across all countries, the cross-country differences are large. In Russia women are 10 years older than men. In Bhutan the difference is just half an hour.

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The female advantage in life expectancy was less in the richer countries that it is today.
Let's examine how the female longevity advantage has changed in the course of time. The chart below illustrates the male and female life expectancy at birth in the US in the years 1790 until 2014. Two specific points stand out.

First, there is an upward trend. Both genders in the United States live longer than they were a century ago. This is in line with historical increases in life expectancy everywhere in the world.

And second, there is an increasing gap: The female advantage in life expectancy used to be quite small however, it has increased significantly over the course of the last century.

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