Irish women have more 'healthy years' than Irish men

Healthy life years are defined as the number of years that a person is expected to live without an activity limitation or disability, or performing usual activities without health problems affecting them. Picture: PA /thinkstockphotos

Irish women can expect to have more than 67 years in good health, two years more than their male counterparts — while also outliving them by about four years to their mid-80s.

In so-called 'healthy life years', Irish people overall fare very well compared to their European counterparts, and are near the top when it comes to being in fine fettle for the majority of their lives.