A new study shows that Northern Ireland women continue to live longer than men. But when it comes to Christmas, another study shows that more than half of men see it as a time for eating and drinking while for more than one third of women, it means cooking.
Men born in Northern Ireland in the past four years can expect to live until they are 74 while women should reach 80. This is far better than 100 years ago when life expectancy for men and women was a mere 46.
The life expectancy statistics are in the Northern Ireland Annual Abstract of Statistics, published by the Department of Finance and Personnel yesterday. Its publication coincided with a survey by the General Consumer Council in the North on people's attitudes to Christmas. It found that 53 per cent of men see Christmas as a time for food and alcohol, a view held by just 34 per cent of women.
For 36 per cent of women, cooking is what Christmas is about. Just over one in seven men were of like mind. More than half of women see Christmas as a time for shopping, compared to less than one third of men.
Women and men in the North are generally agreed that Christmas is a time for the family. The connection with religion and the birth of Christ is declining, however. Over half of women (53 per cent) cited the traditional Christian view of Christmas, while only 36 per cent of men made the Christian connection.
Divorce rates, according to the abstract of statistics, have doubled from 1,455 in 1987, to 2,904 last year. Northern Ireland's estimated population at the end of June last year was 1,688,600, and over the next 15 years is expected to rise to 1,750,000.
In 1990, there were 14,153 hospital beds but that has dropped to 9,006. Apart from maternity and child health, the number of available beds has declined in areas such as acute services, mental health and geriatric.
Between 1986 and 1997, the number of men who take alcohol rose from 72 per cent to 78 per cent while female consumption increased from 58 per cent to 70 per cent. In 1984, 36 per cent of men and 29 per cent of women smoked but this has dropped to 31 per cent and 27 per cent respectively.
Generally, crime rates are lower and detection rates higher than in England and Wales. However, the number of non-paramilitary offences rose from 56,000 in 1988 to 77,000 last year. In that period, sexual offences almost doubled from 779 to 1,485.
In May this year, 681,000 people were employed in the North, where the unemployment rate is 7.2 per cent, 2.4 percentage points lower than the average EU figure. Average weekly earnings in the North last year were £368 sterling, the lowest in Britain.
