On life expectancy: Why women outlive men
….Stories, science, and shifting trends
On a cloudy Sunday morning in August 2025, 53-year-old Chinedu Pam (not his real name), a life coach and fitness instructor based in Plateau State, was preparing for church service when he suddenly collapsed. Doctors later pronounced him dead. Chinedu, who had endured multiple surgeries while battling recurring ailments, left behind his wife—now a young widow—and three children.
Just weeks later, in another quiet tragedy, 33-year-old factory worker Kabiru Kola (not his real name), from Kogi but living in Lagos, went to bed one evening and never woke up. Neighbors said Kabiru had been receiving treatment at a local clinic before his death on October 4, 2025, reportedly linked to excessive alcohol use. “He didn’t have money to pay his hospital bills,” an eyewitness told this reporter. “So he deposited his phone as collateral, hoping to recover and pay later—but he never made it.”
Whether young or middle-aged, fitness coach or factory worker, these stories expose a grim reality that men, across class and circumstance, continue to die younger than women. The reasons often intertwine age-related illnesses, financial strain, risky lifestyle habits, and limited access to healthcare. Each death underscores a broader pattern researchers have long warned about.
Recent United Nations data confirms that women live, on average, five years longer than men worldwide. In Russia, the gap stretches to nearly 12 years, the widest anywhere. In Nigeria, men’s life expectancy hovers between 54.3 and 60.4 years, while women live between 54.9 and 64.2 years. Behind these numbers are stories like Chinedu’s and Kabiru’s—lives cut short not by fate alone, but by a mix of biology, economics, and the quiet burdens men too often carry in silence.
The science
Segun Bello, an eHealth consultant and founder of Klinix Limited, explains that the secret behind women’s longer lifespan lies partly in their genes.
“Beyond just telling the sex of a child, the genetic composition of women tends to give a better advantage in terms of longevity than men,” Bello noted. “Women’s XX genes carry immune-related components and two key body defense cells which help in boosting their immune system, while men just have one X and a Y gene.”
Hormones also play a crucial role. According to Bello, “Women produce estrogen,a component that promotes good cholesterol, also known as high-density lipoproteins (HDL),while men’s testosterone contains higher levels of bad cholesterol or low-density lipoproteins (LDL), which suppresses the immune system and encourage risky behaviors in men.”
A Nigerian consultant gynecologist (name withheld) echoed these biological findings, adding that lifestyle and social habits further shorten men’s lifespan. “Men are more likely to smoke, use alcohol in excess, drive dangerously, have low health-seeking behavior, greater exposure to occupational hazards, higher injury rates, more exposure to pollution, and stress more,” he said. “A low health-seeking behavior could delay treatments that lead to preventable deaths.”
The trend is not unique to Nigeria. Globally, women outlive men by several years. According to The Widowhood, a demographic report by JRank, there were twice as many widows as widowers in the U.S. in 1960. By 1990, the gap had widened to four widows for every widower,reflecting women’s stronger life expectancy.
This pattern is also visible at the community level. Bello referenced findings from local residence and landlords’ association meetings in Nigeria, where members observed more landladies than landlords,an indicator of the rising demise of men and women’s growing leadership in property ownership.
The gender disparity in life expectancy is universal. Every country with reliable health statistics shows women living longer than men. “Women appear to be coping better globally than men at staying alive,” one report notes.
Research supports this biological edge. “Women have a genetic advantage,they possess two X chromosomes. If one is affected, the other compensates,” a Montreal life expectancy researcher wrote in Scientific American. “Men, however, have one X and one Y, and one cannot complement the other.”
Beyond biology, lifestyle remains a powerful factor. Men are more prone to risky habits,smoking, alcohol use, reckless driving, and violence,and often work in more hazardous environments. They also neglect medical checkups and delay seeking help when ill, says demographic researcher Bertrand of Montreal.
“Biologically, women benefit from protective hormones such as estrogen, which supports cardiovascular health and lowers the risk of heart attacks and stroke,” Bello noted. Studies also suggest women’s immune systems are stronger on average.
Socially, men often shoulder greater financial and societal pressure, increasing their vulnerability to stress-related illnesses.
In the end, longevity seems to be a blend of biology, behavior, and social balance,one that continues to favor women across continents and cultures.
Read also: Weak systems trap Nigerians life expectancy behind peers despite health reforms
Shifting trends
Despite men’s lower life expectancy, experts say the gap between men and women may be narrowing. Zakir Hossin, managing editor of the European Journal of Public Health, observes that more women are adopting behaviors once typical of men.
“Just like in Sweden, more women are now smoking and drinking excessively,” Hossin notes. “This trend could eventually close the life expectancy gap as women become more educated and active in the corporate workforce.”
A recent United Nations report highlights another key shift. Global fertility rates have fallen from 3.31 live births per woman in 1990 to 2.25 in 2024. The differences, however, remain striking. Sub-Saharan Africa still averages around four births per woman, while countries such as China, Italy, and Spain record only 1.4.
“Each childbirth threatens a woman’s life,” the report states. “But with advances in modern health technologies, greater education, and fewer pregnancies, women are beginning to reinforce their longer life expectancy,so long as they do not adopt dangerous behaviors.”
Ultimately, the stories of Chinedu and Kabiru are not isolated tragedies. They reveal a broader truth that biology, behavior, and social change are constantly renegotiating who lives longer—and why.
Read also: High mother, child death rates drive Nigeria’s depressing life expectancy statistics
Global picture
The gap in life expectancy between men and women isn’t unique to Nigeria or Africa—it’s a global pattern that cuts across geography and income. In the United States, men live an average of 73.4 years compared with 80.1 years for women—a difference of 6.7 years. In France, the difference in life expectancy between men and women stretches to 7.8 years, while in the United Kingdom it narrows slightly to 5.3, according to Bertrand Desjardins of the University of Montreal’s demography department, as cited in Scientific American (SCIAM).
The contrast grows sharper elsewhere. In Russia, women outlive men by more than 12 years. Yet in countries like India (0.6 year) and Bangladesh (0.1 year), the gap is almost negligible. These variations reveal how culture, economics, healthcare, and social norms converge to shape the balance between men’s and women’s longevity across the world.
How to improve men’s life expectancy
Early marriage and childbearing often impose a heavy burden on men, who traditionally feel obligated to provide for their families. To address this imbalance, the United Nations emphasizes that “raising the minimum legal age at marriage and integrating family planning and safe motherhood measures into primary health care can help to raise women’s levels of education, facilitate their economic participation in the family, and reduce the incidence of early childbearing.”
Delaying marriage and motherhood allows young women to pursue education and employment, key drivers of both family welfare and national development. As analysts note, “Increasing the education levels of women and economic empowerment will enable women to participate in major financial decisions in households while reducing the gap and burden of gender responsibility among couples.”
In essence, empowering women through education and reproductive health reform not only promotes gender equity but also creates more balanced and sustainable family structures.
Bello (earlier cited) further underscored the importance of men making conscious, proactive choices to live longer and healthier lives. This includes adopting improved health-seeking behaviors, engaging in regular physical activity, eating balanced diets, and avoiding risky habits such as drug use and excessive alcohol consumption. These patterns are often linked to testosterone-driven tendencies. Experts caution that completely avoiding alcohol and tobacco is preferable, as it lowers the risk of age-related diseases and enhances overall well-being.
The consultant gynecologist(earlier quoted) also stressed that Nigeria must adopt stronger tobacco and alcohol control policies, through taxation, bans, and cessation programs, to further improve men’s life expectancy and public health outcomes.
