Life Expectancy

Though life expectancy at birth is considered as one of the aspects of human development, female life expectancy indirectly reflects the intrinsic value for women in any society. Life expectancy at birth for women in Kerala is 76 years while it is only 63.5 years at the all India level. In the same period expectancy for males was 70.90 years against the national average of 61.80 years. The life expectancy at birth for women in Kerala has remained higher than men, much higher than the national average and has steadily increased and is near to many of the developed economies of the world. The female life expectancy has increased from 45.3 years in 1961 to 76 years in 2001. The trend of higher life expectancy for females lies in the well-accepted biological fact that women have better longevity than men. This inclination raises the overall sex ratio as well as sex ratio in the highest age group.