Biocultural medium, longevity, gender and life expectancy (India)

The difference in longevity favours women partly because of their biological advantage, which in optimum and equal conditions for both sexes gives them significantly lower mortality rates than men, from childhood to old age (except at reproductive age when there are high rates of maternal death). In seven of the 25 countries with a life expectancy of under 40 in 1960, men had higher life expectancy at birth than women. Most of them were countries in Asia, including India and Bangladesh, with large populations which make up 18% of the world’s population.

In 1995 women in Nepal had even lower life expectancy than men, while in India and Bangladesh it was the same at that time, and better than men by 2015.  In 1995 two African countries (Mali and Swaziland) still show lower life expectancy at birth for women than for men, while other countries, like Nigeria, the most populous country in Africa, the differences in favour of women have fallen recently.

Lower life expectancy in women is a clear indicator of gender inequality.