Aussies' life expectancy is rising - how long are Shoalhaven residents living?

New figures from the Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) show Aussie men are expected to live to 81.3 years and women to 85.4 years.

That's a jump of 13.7 years for men, and 11.2 years for women; the number of people living to 100-plus has also consistently risen nation-wide.

They're promising figures for those born in recent years - the new data comes from 2021 statistics.

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But what about those already getting on in years?

The AIHW data also shows the ages at which most Aussies are currently dying, and what we're dying from.

In the Shoalhaven, most men are living to 80 years, and women 84.3 years.

Compared to the whole of Australia, local men are living slightly longer than the national median of 79.6.

Though Shoalhaven women are living a few months less - 84.9 is the national median.

As for causes of death (from 2017-2021), coronary heart disease was the most common, accounting for 11 per cent of local deaths.

But leading causes were ranked differently between the sexes.

The number one cause of death for local women was actually dementia (including Alzheimer's disease), followed by heart disease and cerebrovascular disease.

Coronary heart disease was the number one killer of Shoalhaven men, then lung cancer, and then cerebrovascular disease.

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