Women live longer by the beach, men in the cold

Australian women live long and prosper by the sea, while men thrive in colder climes, according to life expectancy data released yesterday.

Australian women live long and prosper by the sea, while men thrive in colder climes, according to life expectancy data released yesterday.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the average 84.7 year life span of women living on the Sunshine Coast is the longest in the country, just ahead of women in the Upper Great Southern of WA (also a coastal region) and Perth.

Men, by contrast, appear to last longer if refrigerated, with the average 80 year lifespan of those residing in chilly Melbourne and really chilly Canberra the longest in the country.

Overall, the average woman who lives past 65 can expect to live to 86, three years more than the average man who reaches that age.

Australia’s general average life span of 81.4 years is second in the world, after Japan. Australian women are the fifth longest lived in the world, behind Japan, France, Switzerland and Italy, while our men have the second longest lifespans behind – you guessed it – Iceland.

Australian women

Average life span in years

1. Sunshine Coast

84.7

2. Upper Great Southern (WA)

84.6

3. Perth

84.4

4. Midlands (WA)

84.3

5. Outer Adelaide

84.2

6. Melbourne

84.1

6. South East (SA)

84.1

7. South West (WA)

84.0

8. Canberra and entire ACT

83.9

8. Sydney

83.9

8. Gold Coast

83.9

9. Western Australia (total)

83.8

10. Victoria (total)

83.7

Australian men

Average life span in years

1. Melbourne

80

1. Canberra and entire ACT

80

2. Perth

79.8

3. Sydney

79.7

4. Lower Great Southern (WA)

79.6

5. Sunshine Coast

79.4

5 South West (WA)

79.4

6 Victoria (total)

79.3

6.Brisbane

79.3

6. Gold Coast

79.3

7. Western Australia (total)

79.1

8. Outer Adelaide

79.0

9. Barwon

78.9

10. Darling Downs

78.8

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