Two thirds of women in Germany self-assess their health as being either good or very good; a slightly lower figure than for men. Self-reported health figures decrease with age with just under half of women aged 65 years and older rating their own health as being either good or very good. Over the course of the last 20 years, the figures for self-assessed health of older women in particular have seen a significant increase. Between 1994 and 2016, the proportion of 60- to- 69-year old women reporting either good or very good subjective health has increased by almost 13 percentage points. Positive developments were also seen in women’s average life expectancy, which has been rising for many decades and has itself increased by 4.3 years since 1991. It currently stands at 83.3 years, which is 4.8 years higher than for men, but the gender gap is narrowing.

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