Healthcare

For comprehensive statistics on men’s health in the UK, please visit the Men’s Heath Forum’s statistics page

Men are more likely than women to die prematurely and one in five men dies before the age of 65

Men have a 37% higher risk of dying from cancer overall, while men are 56% more likely to develop non gender-specific cancers than women and 67% more likely to die from them

On average 11,714 men die of prostate cancer every year (2014-2016) – one man dying every 45 minutes. For full statistics see Prostate Cancer UK.

More men die of prostate cancer than women die of breast cancer (Guardian).

1 in 4 black men will get prostate cancer at some point in their lives

Men are less likely than women to acknowledge illness or to seek help when sick, and men aged 20-40 are half as likely to go to their GP as women of the same age

Men are more likely than women to drink alcohol and drink at hazardous levels

Suicide and mental health

In 2018, 4,903 men committed suicide (17.2 deaths per 100,000 males, up significantly from 15.5 deaths per 100,000 in 2017). 75% of all those who commit suicide are male ONS figures

This means that on average more than 13 men a day take their own lives

There were 213 male student suicides between 2012/13 and 2016/17 compared to 105 female student suicides. This is despite fewer male students. The rate for full time students is 5.0 per 100,000 male students and 1.1 per 100,000 female students ONS

Black men are 17 times more likely than white men to be diagnosed with a serious mental health illness

Education

University —

In the 2018 Cycle, 196,105 men/boys domiciled in the UK accepted places at university, compared to 263,180 women/girls — a gap of 67,075 and 35%.

The figure in 2008 was 177,780 and 226,075 — a gap of 48,295 and 27%. UCAS figures

For 17 to 30-year-old English domiciled first-time participants in HE at UK HE Institutions, and at English, Welsh and Scottish Further Education Providers, the figures for men/boys are 150,085 and for girls 183,325 (2018).

This is a gap of 33,249 (22%). DfE figures

GCSEs —

In 2019, 62.9% of males received Grade 1-4 (A* to C) GCSE grades whilst 71.7% of women received the same results. Only 54.2% of 16-year-old boys achieved a Grade C/4 English Language GCSE compared to 70.5% girls. 59.9% of boys achieved Grade C/4 in Maths as did 59.2% girls. Joint Council

More than one in four exam entries by girls aged 16 received top grades of A or 7 and above in this summer’s exams in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, an improvement of half a percentage point to 25.3% compared with last year, while just 18.6% of entries by boys in Year 11 achieved the same grades. Guardian .

For 2018/19, the Department for Education produced this:

A Levels —

More women achieved A*-C grades than men (77.6% grades compared to 73.7%), which meant that females received 76,891 more A*-C grades in total than men, due to a greater number of women taking them.

Apprenticeships / entry to the professions —

In 2018/19, the number of women and men starting apprenticeships were almost at the same level, with slightly more starts by women. 50.1% of apprenticeships starts were by women (197,110) and 49.9% by men (196,270).

Fewer men than women are becoming teachers, GP’s, dentists, vets and lawyers every year. Female GP trainees outnumber their male counterparts by more than 2:1 across the UK and women are now in the majority for all age groups under 50 in the general practice workforce.

Teaching staff —

In 2018 (England), men made up 24.6% of the teaching workforce , down from 26.2% in 2017.

The breakdown is:

Nursery and Primary: 34,322 male (187,730 female) – 14.2% male

Secondary: 64,513 male (116,096) – 35.8% male

Only 2% of Early Years Teachers are male. Guardian

Exclusions —

In 2016/17, the permanent exclusion rate for boys (0.15 per cent) was over three times higher than that for girls (0.04 per cent) and the fixed period exclusion rate was almost three times higher (6.91 compared with 2.53 per cent). Department for Education .

The Department for Education does not fund any initiatives that just focus on addressing boys’ underachievement

Fatherhood

In 96% of cases, the parents who apply to court for access to their children are men

A quarter of a million men in the UK and Scotland are primary carers

92% of lone-parent households are headed by mothers and about one million children in the UK are growing up without any contact with their fathers

Homelessness

86% of rough sleepers in England are male

84% of the “hidden homeless” are male

In England between 2001-2009, men were 90% of those who died while homeless

From 2013 to 2017, the number of UK homeless people who died each year more than doubled, 90% of which were men.

Imprisonment

There are around 85,000 prisoners in England and Wales, 95% of whom are male

Men are more likely to be sent to prison and receive longer sentences than women for the same crimes

Victims of violence

Men are nearly twice as likely as women to be a victim of violent crime and among children, boys are more likely than girls to be victims of violence

Over two thirds of murder victims are male

Men make up 73% of robbery victims

98.6% of UK military deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan were male

Domestic Abuse and Sexual Violence

In 2018/19 – 786,000 men (1.6 million women) suffered from Domestic Abuse – one in three victims are male ONS.

In terms of partner abuse, 576,000 men suffered from this (1.196 million women).

Only 51% of men tell anyone they are a victim of domestic abuse (81% of women tell someone).

In terms of refuges/safe houses, currently, there are 37 organisations with 204 spaces with only 40 of those places are dedicated for men. Many parts of the UK have no or limited places at all.

Every year, 450,000 men in the UK are victims of stalking

One in five victims of forced marriage are male

Source

12,000 men are raped in England and Wales every year

A quarter of victims of revenge porn are male

The Government and the Crown Prosecution Service have an Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Strategy, but do not have an equivalent strategy for men and boys