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Myth: the average life expectancy of males is 6 years less than females
According to the 1985–87 complete life tables, life expectancy at birth was 77.1 years for females and 71.1 years – that's a gap of six years. So the myth was true in 1985–87. But let's look at this a little closer.
Statistics New Zealand has been calculating the life expectancy of the total population of New Zealand since 1950–52. Between 1950-52 and 2000-02, life expectancy at birth has increased from 71.3 to 81.1 years for females and from 67.2 to 76.3 years for males.
This is not a myth: the information is now out of date
While female life expectancy has always been higher than male life expectancy, the gap between the sexes has closed in recent years. The gap between male and female life expectancy was about six years between 1965 and 1990 (peaking at 6.4 years in 1975–77). Since then male life expectancy has increased at a faster rate than female life expectancy. The latest complete life tables for 2000–02 show the gap has narrowed to 4.8 years.
So it's good news all round - life expectancy for both sexes is increasing.
If you are male, it is even better news – the gap between male and female life expectancy is closing.
So what is a life table?
A life table is a numerical summary of the mortality experience of a population. We start with age specific deaths rates (that’s deaths at each age divided by the mean population at each age). Then starting with a hypothetical population of 100,000 we carry out a series of calculations to produce a range of mortality measures. The most commonly used component of a life table is life expectancy at birth but life expectancy is calculated for each year of life. For example, in 2000–02 New Zealanders aged 35 could expect to live another 47 years if female and 43 years if male.
To check life expectancies at ages 0–100 see http://www.stats.govt.nz/people/health/lifeexpectancy.htm.
Some interesting facts related to life expectancy:
Male life expectancy decreased between 1960–62 and 1965–67 (from 68.4 to 68.2 years)
Smoking rates in New Zealand peaked in 1963
Up until the 1970s life expectancy at age one was higher than at birth
In the decade between 1990 and 2000, life expectancy increased by 2.4 years for females and 3.4 years for males
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