bbn.ee - 8 March (BNS) - During the last decade the  life expectancy for both men and women has risen  in Estonia, but currently the difference between men's and women's life expectancy is nearly 11 years.
According to Statistics Estonia, the life expectancy in the country in 2008 was the highest of all time, 79.2 years for women and 68.6 years for men. In ten years the life expectancy for women has increased by 3.5 years and for men by four years.
But the statistics office points out that despite the rise, the average life expectancy in Estonia is shorter than in most EU countries. In the EU the average life expectancy was 82.2 years for women and 76.1 years for men. Women live longer in all European countries than men, but the difference in the life expectancy of men and women, nearly 11 years, is one of the highest in the European Union. Due to longer life expectancy there are twice as many women aged over 65 than men. According to statistics for 2008, women stay healthy for 57 years and men 53 years.
Last year there were 8% more women than men in Estonia. Although more boys than girls are born every year, women outnumber men starting from the 35th year of age. The reason has been men's early mortality, mainly due to accidents and injuries. According to the population forecast the average life expectancy for women will rise to 80.4 and for men 78.4 years by 2050. Although women's life expectancy was already close to the forecast for 2050 in 2008, men remained ten years short of that target, Statistics Estonia said. According to the forecast, the gender balance of the population will improve and women's numerical majority will shift to the early 60s instead of the present 35 year of age.