Overview

Men and women have distinct health and welfare needs and concerns related to their gender and biological sex. This is illustrated by different rates of injury, illness and mortality; different attitudes towards health and other risks; the way each group uses health services; and differences in their health outcomes and wellbeing.

More reports and statistics on women can be found under Mothers & babies.

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Latest findings

Around 1 in 2 Australian males had 1 or more of the 10 selected chronic conditions in 2017–18

Fewer than 1 in 30 men ate the recommended amount of fruit and vegetables in 2017–18

3 in 4 men were overweight or obese in 2017–18

Fewer than 1 in 10 women ate the recommended amount of fruit and vegetables in 2017–18.

2 in 5 women were sufficiently physically active in 2017–18.

1 in 3 women exceeded the single occasion risk alcohol guidelines in 2017–18.

Highlights

In 2019the leading cause of death for females was dementia including Alzheimer disease (12%)
59%of women and 50% of men aged 18 years and over were insufficiently active in 2017–18
2 in 3people in permanent residential aged care in 2014 were women
Coronary heart diseasewas the leading cause of death for males in 2019 (12%)
49%of females had 1 or more of the 10 selected chronic conditions in 2017–18 compared with 46% of males
30.7is the average age of women who gave birth in 2018
1 in 6women and 1 in 16 men have experienced physical or sexual violence from a current or previous cohabiting partner
Suicide rateamong ex-serving Australian Defence Force men was 18% higher than for all Australian men, after adjusting for age