Women live the longest, but the men are catching up

Jan 10 2006

In latest figures released by NSW Health, the life expectancy for babies born in NSW is up to ten years longer than their parents born a generation ago. In NSW between 1973 and 2003, life expectancy at birth steadily increased from 68.6 to 78.6 for males, and from 75.6 to 83.4 for females.

This new data is from the NSW Chief Health Officer's Report, which is regularly updated with new information online.

Dr Tim Churches, Acting Director of the Centre for Epidemiology & Research at NSW Health, said that although females can still expect to live longer than males, the difference between the sexes is decreasing.

"In NSW in 1973, female life expectancy was 7 years higher than for males. In 2003 this difference was only 4.8 years.

"In 2003, life expectancy at birth was the longest in the South Eastern Sydney and Illawarra Area Health Service, with 79.3 years in males and 84.3 years in females.

"The shortest life span was in the Greater Western Area Health Service, with only 75.6 years for males and 81.3 years for females," she said.

Dr Churches said that in general, life expectancy at birth decreases with increasing geographical remoteness.

"In addition, higher death rates experienced by certain population sub-groups, particularly Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders, as well as differences in socio-economic status, also effect the overall life expectancy for each geographical region," he said.

Life expectancy at birth is an estimate average of the number of years a person can expect to live, assuming that death rates for each age group continue at their current levels.

The following table shows life expectancy at birth by Area Health Service:

The Electronic NSW Chief Health Officer's Report can be found at:
http://www.health.nsw.gov.au/public-health/chorep/