Life expectency has increased dramatically over the last two centuries. These gains were mostly due to the eradication and control of infectious diseases, improvement in agriculture resulting in better nutrition and reduction in childhood and infant mortality. In all developed countries today, men have a lower life expectancy at birth than women by an average of 6 years.

The data reconstructed from the oldest records for England and Wales show that from the early
17th to the 20th century male and female life expectency differed little with discrepancies of less than two years (sometimes males had an advantage and sometimes females). Even today in the worlds least developed countries, the discrepancy is small.

The increase in female life expectancy is largely due to impoved maternal care resulting in lower levels of maternal mortality. Some countries (in particular those in the middle east) do have significantly more males over 65 years than females.

Researchers studied the diet of more than 75,000 Europeans 60 and older in nine countries - Denmark, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and Britain. Those who ate plenty of fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, fish and olive oil showed a longer life expectancy. The link was most pronounced in Greece and Spain, countries that follow a true Mediterranean diet.

Precisely how long a Mediterranean diet extends lifespan depends on a person's age. A 60-year-old man who sticks to the diet can expect to live a year longer that someone of a similar age eating differently, according to researchers, while younger people could expect a bigger benefit.

The Mediterranean diet is rich in antioxidants that neutralize cell damage from free radicals and are thought to help fight cancer and heart disease.

Currently, the average global life expectancy for all people is 63 years. There is a gender discrepancy with males living an average of 61 years and females an average of 65 years. In developing nations, the gender discrepancy is smaller due largely to the risks of childbirth. In developed nations, the gender discrepancy is larger.

In the United Arab Emirates, the average life expectancy is 74.75 years (72.28 years for males and 77.35 years for females.) This information is available if you select 'view all countries'.

There were 2,443,930 deaths in 2003. The overall death rate, adjusted for changes in age distribution of the population, declined 1.7 percent from 2002.

Average life expectancy is significantly affected by gender and race. The average life expectancy for a woman in 2003 was 80.1 years, while a man’s average life expectancy was 74.8. On average, black women live 4.4 years less than white women. A black man’s average life expectancy is 6.2 years less than a white man’s.