Life expectancy in Israel is on the rise, according to figures released Wednesday by the Central Bureau of Statistics. In 2013, the average life expectancy was 80.3 years among men and 83.9 among women – an increase of 0.4 (nearly five months) for males and 0.3 (about three and a half months) for females from 2012.

Follow Ynetnews on Facebook and Twitter



According to the figures, men live an average of 13 years after retiring, while women live 22 years in retirement.

Grim Figures Israeli hospitals see rise in suicide attempts Ynet New immigrants, divorced and older people are at a higher risk of committing suicide in Israel, according to data presented by mental health association. Israeli hospitals see rise in suicide attempts

In the past decade, life expectancy in Israel has gone up by 2.9 years for men and 2.4 years for women. In the past 35 years, life expectancy has increased by 8.7 years for men and 8.9 years for women.

In the past decade, life expectancy in Israel has gone up by 2.9 years for men and 2.4 years for women (Photo: Shutterstock)

According to mortality rates in the late 1970s, only about 33% of males and 43% of females born at the time were expected to reach the age of 80. Today, 59% of males and 72% of females born this year are expected to reach that age.

The gap in life expectancy between men and women in Israel is among the lowest in the world. The average gap across OECD countries is 5.3, and Iceland is the only country with a lower gap than Israel. In The Netherlands, Sweden and Britain, the gap is similar to Israel.

In the Jewish population, the gap in life expectancy between men and women is 3.3 years. In the Arab population, it is 2.9 years.

The gap in life expectancy between Jewish and Arab men had dropped from 3.6 to three years in the past decades, and the gap between Jewish and Arab women has dropped from 4.1 to 3.4 years.

The figures further show that there is a positive correlation between life expectancy and education – the higher the education, the higher the average number of years a person is expected to live.

Israel ranks eighth among OECD countries in life expectancy of the general population. Japan tops the list.