Life Expectancy

Prior to the modern era women had a very high mortality rate from child birth. As a result average life expectancy of women may actually have been lower than men for much of history.

At present women live, on average, longer than men. The gap is closing however. Men have in fact been catching up to women for decades. The reasons for this, like the difference in life expectancy itself, is complex but at least part of the reason seems to be that women are increasingly adopting activities, such as smoking and excessive drinking, that have been the domain of men for a very long time. Current trends suggest that men may match women for life expectancy late in the 21st century.

References

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